In pictures: Billionaire entrepreneur Elon Musk

Updated 3:03 PM ET, Wed May 13, 2020

Elon Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Motors, poses for a photo in 2013.

Sarah Lee/eyevine/Redux

Elon Musk built a commercial rocket company from scratch and upended the auto industry as a high-profile evangelist for electric cars.

It has made him one of the richest people in the world.

Musk, the CEO of SpaceX and Tesla Inc., has been a visionary risk-taker throughout his career. After making a dot-com fortune in the late 1990s and early 2000s, he bet it all on long-shot startups that have paid off.

"When something is important enough, you do it even if the odds are not in your favor," he once said.

Musk, left, is seen with his brother, Kimbal, in this childhood photo posted by their mother, Maye. Elon Musk was born June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. His mother is a model and nutritionist. His father, Errol, is an engineer.

From Maye Musk/Instagram

Musk is seen at left with his sister, Tosca, and Kimbal in 1976.

Maye Musk/A Woman Makes a Plan