Vance Cariaga

Mon, Jun 2, 2025, 5:01 AM4 min read

Most Americans will spend the full year paying payroll taxes, and many are bracing for another year of chipping away at their paychecks to fund Social Security. But for billionaires like Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos, that same financial obligation is fulfilled almost instantly — often before the rest of us have even brewed our morning coffee.

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Keep reading for a closer look into just how much the wealthy contribute to Social Security.

In 2025, the maximum amount of earnings on which you must pay Social Security tax is $176,100, which is less interest than most of the uber-rich earn in a minute on a savings account.

Not only do mega-billionaires like Elon Musk, Warren Buffett, Jeff Bezos, Larry Ellison and Bill Gates pay the full amount of Social Security taxes in practically no time at all. Even folks who are “just” millionaires or high-income individuals usually stop paying after a couple of months based on the math alone.

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Social Security taxes are deducted from paychecks, with employee contributions totaling 6.2% of wages and employer contributions also totaling 6.2% of wages. When you multiply $176,100 by 6.2%, you arrive at the $10,918.20 figure.

To put this into perspective, some estimations have the richest man in the world Elon Musk making around $8 million a day. He currently has an estimated net worth of about $350 billion, which puts him almost halfway to becoming the planet’s first trillionaire.

If you’re self-employed, you might end up paying more in Social Security taxes than billionaires and millionaires. The reason is that self-employed individuals are responsible for paying both the employee and employer portions, or 12.4%.

The fact that billionaires like Musk and Bezos stop paying Social Security taxes in less time than it takes to make a cup of coffee doesn’t sit right with some people — especially considering that Social Security trust fund often faces major funding shortfalls, reductions or restrictions placed by each new White House administration.

As the head of the Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE), Musk and his view of governmental spending has been under a bit of fire in the court of public opinion. However, when it comes to his own spending, and how he was taxed, some estimates could surprise you.