An ironic flash mob on X: users send donations to the "impoverished" Musk
An unusual viral trend has erupted on the social network X. Users have begun ironically sending small amounts of money to Elon Musk through the XMoney payment service. The reason was a sharp decline in the businessman's fortune — in just two weeks, he lost the title of the first dollar trillionaire in history.
It all started with a post from a user under the handle Corey. He published a screenshot of a $25 transaction with a concise caption: "Buy coffee on my tab." "Call me an idiot, but I just sent $25 directly to Elon Musk, the richest man in the world, via XMoney for no reason — just because I can," he wrote.
Musk himself did not stay on the sidelines and responded to the transfer with a brief "Thank you." This reply sparked a new wave: commenters declared they were ready to send money too if the billionaire responded to their posts. The joking initiative quickly turned into a massive flash mob within the new payment service.
Why Musk Lost His Trillionaire Status
The main reason for the wave of ironic donations was the sudden drop in the businessman's income less than two weeks after reaching trillionaire status amid the hype around the SpaceX IPO. The decline occurred due to a massive sell-off on the stock market, which hit his two key assets hard.
According to my data, Musk's peak fortune reached $1.4 trillion in June 2026. However, a global stock market correction affecting the technology sector and the artificial intelligence industry stripped the businessman of the symbolic title. His current fortune is estimated at $943 billion.
Despite this, the founder of SpaceX confidently holds the top spot in the ranking of the world's richest people. His capital still significantly surpasses the resources of his main competitors, including Jeff Bezos and Larry Page.
Analyst's comment: This flash mob is a vivid example of how a crisis in the perception of a billionaire's wealth is monetized through the platform's own financial tools. XMoney gets unprecedented PR and real-world testing, while users get the chance to participate in an absurd but memorable meme. From a marketing perspective, this is a brilliant move, even if it wasn't planned initially.