The world’s wealthiest individual is seeking clarity on how certain members of Congress have become “strangely wealthy” despite their relatively modest government salaries.
During a town hall meeting in Wisconsin on Sunday night, Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, Starlink, and SpaceX, announced that his team at the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE) would investigate how some lawmakers have accumulated significant wealth, as reported by the New York Post.
Musk’s comments came in response to a question from an audience member who inquired about potential financial connections between the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) and several prominent politicians, including Rep. Maxine Waters (D-Calif.), Sen. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), and Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.).
“Yeah, so,” Musk began, seemingly gathering his thoughts. “There is a massive amount of corruption, but it is circuitous. What happens is that taxpayer money is sent to various government organizations, which then funnel it to NGOs—non-governmental organizations that are, in reality, government-funded.”
“It’s essentially a government operation, and there’s a significant fraud loophole where the government can send money to an NGO that is no longer subject to U.S. laws,” he elaborated. “They’ll send the money overseas to one NGO, which then passes it through several others, and I’m highly confident that a portion of that money eventually returns to the U.S. and ends up in the pockets of the individuals you mentioned. It’s a roundabout process, but there are many members of Congress who have become quite wealthy, and I’m trying to connect the dots on how they achieved that.”
Many long-serving members of Congress have built substantial wealth over their careers. Notably, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) has an estimated net worth of around $250 million, while Sen. Rick Scott (R-Fla.) boasts a personal fortune of approximately $552 million, according to The Post.
Pelosi’s wealth largely comes from successful investments made by her and her husband, venture capitalist Paul Pelosi, in major tech companies like Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Google, and Netflix. Scott’s fortune primarily stems from his business endeavors prior to his Senate career, including co-founding HCA Healthcare and launching Solantic, a chain of urgent-care clinics.
“How do they accumulate $20 million if they’re earning $200,000 a year?” Musk questioned. “We’re going to try to figure it out and certainly put a stop to it.”
Pelosi has faced particular scrutiny for her and her husband’s unusually successful stock trading practices. In December, popular podcaster Joe Rogan and former Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich discussed the couple’s seemingly improbable success, leading to speculation that Paul Pelosi may have received insider trading information from his wife, although no concrete evidence has emerged.
Rogan mentioned an app called Autopilot, which tracks stock trades made by members of Congress, including Pelosi. “Oh, it’s so good,” Rogan remarked. “I’m not really into the stock market, but I know people who are. The ‘Pelosi stock tracker’ is legit. You can see what she’s buying, and you should buy it.”
“She’s a really good stockbroker, Rod,” Rogan added sarcastically. “She’s super good at it.”
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