5 Ways Elon Musk and Other Billionaires Get Welfare for the Rich

Tech billionaire Elon Musk is known for leading Tesla and SpaceX, as one of the visionaries behind PayPal, and for hyping bitcoin and a bold plan to colonize Mars.

He's not just one of the planet's richest people, he's one of its biggest recipients of government handouts, according to Lisa Conyers and Phil Harvey, authors of Welfare for the Rich: How Your Tax Dollars End Up in Millionaires' Pockets—And What You Can do About It. Conyers is a veteran journalist and co-author with Harvey of 2016's The Human Cost of Welfare. Harvey is a successful businessman and philanthropist who supports many libertarian organizations, including Reason Foundation, the nonprofit that publishes this website.

By 2015, companies led by Musk had already gotten billions in subsidies, tax breaks, and other handouts. He's not alone. There are thousands of other immensely rich people who are constantly milking the government for special perks, carveouts, and handouts.