I'm wondering to what degree Elon's political activism would have affected his wealth if he owned a boring commodities business. That, I think, is the only niche that creates a loophole for Elon-style social activism. Whether your company sells bulk minerals, or exports millions of tons of wheat, iron ore, or coal, your customers are mostly faceless corporations and you can quietly funnel money to politics or even take a public stance without losing money.

That Koch model is hard to replicate when your main cash cow are high-end, $50k to $100k consumer devices that people spend months researching before making a decision.