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My controversial take is that I don't actually think Musk has enough to solve the problem.

VyseofArcadia 2y ago
I did some back-of-the-enveloping once, and I agree. Land acquisition and building are already pretty expensive, and then there's staff + maintenance + utilities over time. I think the strategy is do it in a couple of prominent areas, and, assuming it actually works out, point to them as success stories and acquire philanthropic funding to keep doing it in more and more cities.
iamthemonster 2y ago
His net worth is $378k per homeless person. You can't solve every homeless person's issues but he does at least have enough to get every homeless person into an apartment.
- VyseofArcadia 2y ago
  I'm unconvinced rich person net worth is ever actually the dollar figure that's quoted. So much of net worth is in relatively non-liquid assets. If Musk suddenly became a good person and decided to cash out in order to house the homeless, I doubt he would actually end up with $378k per homeless person.
  - Tade0 2y ago
    > So much of net worth is in relatively non-liquid assets. Which is why it's not bought and sold, but used as collateral to obtain low, low interest loans.
  - andreygrehov 2y ago
    > If Musk suddenly became a good person Is Musk a bad person?
- HappySweeney 2y ago
  Only if he could barter Tesla stock for the apartments, or by liquidating very very slowly, so as to not crash the value of the rest of his shares (so he can keep doing this). Unfortunately, neither are very realistic (ignoring, of course, that Musk would never do this in the first place).
- paxys 2y ago
  The question is how many new homeless people will be created once he starts doing this? And how much will the price of the average rental go up?
- gruez 2y ago
  There's some aspect of housing that's a positional good. There's only so much land in Manhattan, for instance. However, if refugee-camp conditions (ie. a basic place to live but with poor/no economic prospects nearby) are acceptable, it can probably be done with enough musk level wealth.
beeboobaa3 2y ago
So he might have to work together with one other billionaire? The horror.

I did some back-of-the-enveloping once, and I agree. Land acquisition and building are already pretty expensive, and then there's staff + maintenance + utilities over time. I think the strategy is do it in a couple of prominent areas, and, assuming it actually works out, point to them as success stories and acquire philanthropic funding to keep doing it in more and more cities.

iamthemonster 2y ago

His net worth is $378k per homeless person. You can't solve every homeless person's issues but he does at least have enough to get every homeless person into an apartment.

VyseofArcadia 2y ago
I'm unconvinced rich person net worth is ever actually the dollar figure that's quoted. So much of net worth is in relatively non-liquid assets. If Musk suddenly became a good person and decided to cash out in order to house the homeless, I doubt he would actually end up with $378k per homeless person.
- Tade0 2y ago
  > So much of net worth is in relatively non-liquid assets. Which is why it's not bought and sold, but used as collateral to obtain low, low interest loans.
- andreygrehov 2y ago
  > If Musk suddenly became a good person Is Musk a bad person?
HappySweeney 2y ago
Only if he could barter Tesla stock for the apartments, or by liquidating very very slowly, so as to not crash the value of the rest of his shares (so he can keep doing this). Unfortunately, neither are very realistic (ignoring, of course, that Musk would never do this in the first place).
paxys 2y ago
The question is how many new homeless people will be created once he starts doing this? And how much will the price of the average rental go up?
gruez 2y ago
There's some aspect of housing that's a positional good. There's only so much land in Manhattan, for instance. However, if refugee-camp conditions (ie. a basic place to live but with poor/no economic prospects nearby) are acceptable, it can probably be done with enough musk level wealth.

beeboobaa3 2y ago

So he might have to work together with one other billionaire? The horror.