‘Donate $1 Trillion By 2036’: Nobel Economist Challenges Elon Musk After His 'Money Won’t Matter' Claim
‘Donate $1 Trillion By 2036’: Nobel Economist Challenges Elon Musk After His 'Money Won’t Matter' Claim Published By, Last Updated: July 29, 2026, 18:42 IST
‘Donate $1 Trillion By 2036’: Nobel Economist Challenges Elon Musk After His 'Money Won’t Matter' Claim Published By, Last Updated: July 29, 2026, 18:42 IST After Musk predicts money may become irrelevant by 2036, a Nobel economist throws down a bold challenge—one the billionaire surprisingly doesn’t dismiss outright. Rapid Read Elon Musk suggested that money will not matter by 2026 because AI will be able to produce so much more. Then a nobel-winning economist threw an interesting challenge. (Image source: AFP) After Earth’s first trillionaire Elon Musk predicted that money would not be relevant by 2036, during his conversation with the editor of The Economist, Nobel prize-winning economist Daron Acemoglu challenged him to give up a trillion-dollar worth of his wealth. More importantly, the trillionaire commented he might just do it. While speaking with Zanny Minton Beddoes, The Economist’s editor, Musk said that money will not matter by 2036 because AI and robots might be able to produce goods and services in such abundance that people won’t face any scarcity, the primary reason money exists.
It was in response to that eccentric prediction that the economist was responding to. “An opportunity to put your money where your mouth is. If money won’t matter in 2036, why don’t you pledge to donate your current wealth of approximately $1 trillion to charity no later than 2036," he said in a post on X. A proposed pledge for Elon Musk.An opportunity to put your money where your mouth is. If money won’t matter in 2036, why don’t you pledge to donate your current wealth of approximately $1 trillion to charity no later than 2036. This would establish with great credibility your…— Daron Acemoglu (@DAcemogluMIT) July 27, 2026 Daron won a Nobel prize in Economic Sciences for his work on how institutions shape the economic trajectories of nations. He is the author of popular works like – Why Nations Fail (about how corrupt, authoritarian, and extractive institutions hinder growth), The Narrow Corridor (about liberty and state power), and What Happened To Liberal Democracy (about how institutions in the Western nations are failing).
His central argument is simple but strong. He makes the point that well-constituted and properly functioning institutions matter more than luck with regards to geography, minerals, or any other thing. To further prod Musk to accept the challenge, Acemoglu said donating his money “would establish with great credibility your belief in the powers of AI and technology. It would also assuage many people around the world who are worried about the political and social influence of billionaires and trillionaires." I am actually going to do something along these lines!— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) July 27, 2026 The nobel-winning economist is known for his belief in liberal democracies and its institutions. Whereas, Elon Musk has always held state institutions as a drag on the growth of the economy. It was for this reason, that under the Trump administration, Musk, who was the largest donor of the Republican leader’s 2024 Presidential campaign, was made the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE).
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