What Malaysia, the World Could Do With Elon Musk’s US$1.1T

By Danial Martinus  •  15 Jun 2026 in Features

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Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire thanks to the record-breaking debut of his company, SpaceX, on the stock market. For almost the entire world’s population, US$1 trillion is simply unimaginable wealth. In numbers, it’s US$1,000,000,000,000. That’s 12 zeros, 13 digits altogether.

It begs a few questions: Should anyone be allowed to amass that much wealth? Is it even ethical, considering all the world problems that obscene amount of wealth could alleviate?

It’s not so simple, but it does beg one more question in the context of this story: What could Malaysia (and the world) do with US$1 trillion?

What could the world do with US$1 trillion?

1. End extreme poverty for an entire generation

The “easiest” problem the world could collectively solve with US$1 trillion is also the lowest hanging fruit: extreme poverty.

Sure, you can’t exactly “solve” it with a very fat cheque per se, but US$1 trillion could go a very long way in funding massive programmes that develop the cash-transfer, healthcare, education, sanitation, as well as infrastructure sectors.

Every single one of these sectors plays a key role in ensuring a person stays out of extreme poverty. If they’re all developed with equal access to those who need it, you won’t necessarily get rid of poverty as a whole, but extreme poverty will definitely be out of the picture.

It’ll give billions of people the chance to build and secure their own futures; making them stable enough for the next generation to continue nurturing.

2. Provide potable water and sanitation to billions of people

We all know water and sanitation are both basic human needs. But the unfortunate reality of today has billions of people struggling to find clean water for drinking and cooking, and equally difficult sanitation situations make exposure to disease fairly common (and lethal).

Providing potable water and sanitation to 140 low and middle-income countries would cost roughly US$114 billion a year, according to UNESCO estimates. That’s just a tiny fraction of US$1 trillion.

If you were to go with basic infrastructure to address these needs, the overall yearly bill would dip as low as US$28 billion.

3. Slow down climate change by a significant margin

For decades, scientists have warned us about the rate of industrialisation and its effects on climate change. But many countries argue the greater good (socio-economic development) far outweighs the costs (rising sea levels, a depleting ozone layer, etc).

While this argument is definitely valid, it’s getting increasingly difficult to ignore the effects of climate change on the most vulnerable nations, particularly in the Global South. While more and more nations are steadily making transitions to cleaner energy, we’re not doing it quick enough.

US1$ trillion could definitely help speed up those efforts. It can be used to finance millions of rooftop solar installations, large-scale battery storage, new power grids, wind farms, and an all-encompassing electric vehicle charging network.

Of course, switching to EVs doesn’t necessarily erase the effects of climate change. The manufacturing process still contributes to it, but the long-term benefits are far more positive than solely relying on fossil fuels.

4. Fund medical research on a gargantuan scale

We all know medical research enjoys billions of dollars in funding every year. But even then, researchers struggle to find cures for some of the world’s most deadly illnesses, like cancer and HIV AIDS.

An injection of US1$ trillion could help speed up this research for decades to come. Who knows? With that kind of money, someone might finally be able to find the cure for cancer, Alzheimer’s, and other rare diseases, saving billions of lives in the process.

5. Ensure easy access to healthcare and education for all

This one is pretty simple, given a government or private company has the money for it. With US$1 trillion, you can build enough hospitals and schools within easy reach of all communities and locations, especially in developing nations.

It’s enough money to build thousands of modern hospitals, hundreds of thousands of schools, and practical public transport infrastructure.

This way, people won’t have to worry about making long, sometimes dangerous trips just to get affordable healthcare and education. The more healthy and educated people there are, and the easier they can access these things, the more an economy can flourish. It’s a win-win for all.

What could Malaysia (hypothetically) do with US$1 trillion?

For a more local and micro context, here’s a look at what Malaysia could do with that much money. This hypothetical scenario is a lot easier to achieve since the money won’t have to be shared with the rest of the world. But of course, this is unrealistic. For context, US$1 trillion is roughly RM4 trillion.

1. Completely overhaul public transport

Malaysian public transport as a whole isn’t exactly bad, but it’s not great either. Plus, first and last-mile accessibility also seem like afterthoughts, if they were even considered in the first place. Many Malaysians would argue they weren’t.

US$1 trillion could be used to expand the entire Klang Valley rail network several times over, with access to and from these hubs made a lot more convenient. Places like Johor Bahru, Penang, and Kota Kinabalu would also be able to enjoy high-speed rail connectivity.

But if taking the train isn’t your thing, the money could also be used to completely revamp Malaysia’s bus systems, which would greatly improve connectivity between rural areas, reducing the need for people to drive their own cars. It would negate the need for a car at all for some people.

Places like Singapore and Japan have made this possibility a reality for most of its people. Malaysia could very well do the same if more money was invested in the country’s public transport systems.

2. Address all infrastructure problems

We’ve all heard our fair share of horror stories regarding public infrastructure, like government hospitals, government schools, our (lacklustre) flood mitigation systems, and even our water treatment facilities.

With such an obscene amount of money, run-down schools and and out-of-date hospitals would be a thing of the past. After a heavy bout of rain, we wouldn’t have to worry about flash floods suddenly turning our daily routines and commitments upside down.

And for some states, the worry about your running water suddenly turning a muddy brown colour wouldn’t be a thought at all. But an even bigger problem that US$1 trillion could help alleviate is access to water as whole. No one wants to have to deal with periodical water cuts.

We live in Malaysia. It’s hot, people like their showers. People get thirsty. Water cuts shouldn’t even be a recurring yearly event at all.

3. Erase the Malaysian government’s debt

Malaysia’s federal government debt is RM1.3 trillion, according to Bank Negara Malaysia.

That’s just over a quarter of US$1 trillion, leaving plenty left over to address other pressing development opportunities.

4. Create a substantial sovereign wealth fund

If Malaysia invested US$1 trillion (RM4.2 trillion) and earned a modest 5% return, that would equate to an annual income of roughly RM210 billion per year.

When you consider Malaysia’s 2026 budget, which was RM421.2 billion, the added returns from the US$1 trillion investment could allow the government to expand funding allocation to more areas of concern.

What could YOU do with US$1 trillion?

TL;DR—You and your entire lineage wouldn’t have to work a single day, forever.

Of course, when considering this amount of money, it’s not always going to come in the form of cash, such is the case with Elon Musk. But hypothetically, if you did possess this much cash, what does US$1 trillion look like for an individual?

It would theoretically allow you to spend US$1 million (over RM4 million) per DAY for a mind-bending 2,740 years. Maybe if someone unlocked the secret to eternal life, this would be a more useful figure. But that’s just how powerful US$1 trillion is.

What would you do with that kind of money?

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