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INSIDE ELON MUSK'S PRESCHOOL DREAM
Mint Mumbai
|December 18, 2024
The school, Ad Astra seems to have been designed with the children of Elon Musk's employees—if not Musk's own offspring—in mind
Jared Birchall, Elon Musk's money manager and the head of his family office, is listed as the chief executive officer. Jehn Balajadia, a longtime Musk aide who has worked at SpaceX and the Boring Co., is named as an official contact.
But they're not connected to Musk's new technology venture, or the political operation that's endeared him to Donald Trump. Instead, they're tied to the billionaire's new Montessori school outside Bastrop, Texas, called Ad Astra, according to documents filed with state authorities and obtained via a Texas Public Information Act request.
The world's richest person oversees an overlapping empire of six companies—or seven, if you include his political action committee. Alongside rockets, electric cars, brain implants, social media and the next Trump administration, he is increasingly focused on education, spanning preschool to college.
One part of his endeavor was revealed last year, when Bloomberg News reported that his foundation had set aside roughly $100 million to create a technology-focused primary and secondary school in Austin, with eventual plans for a university. An additional $137 million in cash and stock was allotted last year, according to the most recent tax filing for the Musk Foundation.
Ad Astra is closer to fruition. The state documents show Texas authorities issued an initial permit last month, clearing the way for the center to operate with as many as 21 pupils. Ad Astra's website says it's "currently open to all children ages 3 to 9."
The school's account on X includes job postings for an assistant teacher for preschool and kindergarten and an assistant teacher for students ages 6 to 9.
To run the school, Ad Astra is partnering with a company that has experience with billionaires: Xplor Education, which developed Hala Kahiki Montessori school in Lanai, Hawaii, the island 98% owned by Oracle Corp. founder Larry Ellison.
This story is from the December 18, 2024 edition of Mint Mumbai.
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