Elon Musk, the world’s richest person, has started a new conversation on social media by talking about an old idea — that just having a lot of money doesn’t mean you’re happy.As the boss of Tesla and SpaceX, Musk shared his thoughts in a short message on Wednesday.
He wrote,
“Whoever said ‘money can’t buy happiness’ really knew what they were talking about.”Whoever said “money can’t buy happiness” really knew what they were talking about 😄— Elon Musk (@elonmusk) February 5, 2026.
His comment got a lot of attention. Many people thought it showed he was thinking about how much money can really do for someone’s feelings. In just a few hours, the post had more than 33 million views and over 245,000 likes. People started talking a lot about whether being very rich automatically makes someone happy.
In Nigeria, the comment reminded people of a song from 2021 by Adekunle Gold called “It Is What It Is.” The song talks about how being rich doesn’t always mean you’re satisfied.
The song’s words are similar to Musk’s message about the difference between having money and feeling happy. People on the internet had very different opinions. Some agreed with Musk, saying that although money can help with tough times, it can’t fix all emotional problems. One person said money may not buy happiness, but it can make life easier when things are hard. Others disagreed, saying that living in poverty or not having enough money can be really stressful.
Some people also questioned Musk’s view, especially since he has so much money. They said even a small part of his wealth would change their lives a lot. Religious opinions also came up. Some commenters said that real happiness comes from faith and values, not from having a lot of things.