Donation to right-wing populists? This is what the meeting between Elon Musk and Nigel Farage was about
Meeting at Trump's estate: Elon Musk hosted British right-wing populist Nigel Farage at Mar-a-Lago. They also discussed a possible donation from Musk to Farage's party, Reform UK.
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- Elon Musk has met with British right-wing populist Nigel Farage at Donald Trump's Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida.
- The two also discussed the possibility of Musk making a substantial donation to Farage's party, Reform UK.
- As Musk is not a British citizen, the donation would have to be made via the British arm of his social media company X, formerly known as Twitter.
The Mar-a-Lago estate in Florida has a special relationship with the office of the US President. It was built in the 1920s for Marjorie Merriweather Post, one of the richest women in the world. In 1973, she bequeathed it to the state - it was to serve as a winter residence for sitting US presidents.
But neither Richard Nixon nor Jimmy Carter had any interest in it. It returned to the Post Foundation - until it was bought by entrepreneur Donald Trump in 1985.
In 2016, he was elected US president and Mar-a-Lago was given the honor of being inhabited by a US president after all. Trump spent a lot of time here during his first term in office. Trump has also made the prestigious luxury property available to his political allies, including Tesla boss Elon Musk.
Farage speaks of "open negotiations"
The billionaire and richest person in the world has become one of Trump's biggest supporters in the past election campaign - and used Mar-a-Lago last Monday, with Trump's permission, to meet with British politician Nigel Farage.
Farage, a former member of the EU-sceptic UKIP party and current leader of the right-wing populist Reform UK party, was one of the big winners of the British general election last July. Reform UK entered the House of Commons with 14.3 percent of the vote.
If Elon Musk, who has already clashed several times with the incumbent British Prime Minister Keir Starmer, has his way, Farage should win the next election. And he is prepared to give him a helping hand.
As Farage confirmed to the BBC, the possibility of a donation from Musk to Reform UK was on the table. They are in "open negotiations", Farage said verbatim. In any case, Musk is "completely behind us".
Donation not possible as a private individual
As a private individual, Musk, who has South African, Canadian and American citizenship but not British citizenship, cannot donate money to a party in the UK. However, he could still donate a considerable sum via the British branch of X, the social media company formerly known as Twitter, which Musk bought in 2022.
Donald Trump's successful campaign to return to the White House also received substantial financial support from Musk. In the new government, Musk is earmarked for the post of head of a new Department of Government Efficiency.
