Elon Musk Turns to Billionaire Backers, Skeptics for Twitter Bid

(Bloomberg) -- Elon Musk's $7.1 billion of new financing commitments to help him buy Twitter Inc. for $44 billion come from the the highest rungs of global finance -- and some familiar faces from his other ventures.

The Tesla Inc. co-founder won over the Saudi prince who initially balked at his offer and brought aboard Larry Ellison, the 11th richest person on the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He also got a half-billion-dollar commitment from cryptocurrency exchange Binance.

Musk, 50, also got hundreds of millions of dollars from Sequoia Capital, a big backer of his Space Exploration Technologies Corp., and Vy Capital, which has previously invested in his Boring Co. and Neuralink.

There might be more money to come. Twitter founder Jack Dorsey, whose stake is worth about $1 billion, is continuing to have discussions about keeping his holdings in the company, according to a Thursday regulatory filing.

Here are the large investors throwing big money behind Musk's Twitter bid.

Saudi Arabia Prince Alwaleed bin Talal: $1.9 Billion

Alwaleed has pledged to roll over his nearly 35 million Twitter shares, according to Thursday's filing, which are worth about $1.9 billion at a price of $54.20 per share.

With a $16.4 billion fortune, he's the richest individual in Saudi Arabia, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Most of his wealth is derived from his 95% ownership of Kingdom Holding Co.

He initially rejected Musk's bid, saying the deal didn't “come close to the intrinsic value” of the popular social-media platform. The move prompted a rapid retort from Musk, who asked how many shares the investor held in Twitter and the Kingdom's view on freedom of speech for journalists.

Larry Ellison: $1 Billion

Ellison has made a fortune from Tesla. His stake in the electric carmaker is worth more than $14 billion. He was already one of the world's richest people after founding Oracle Corp. He has a $95.6 billion fortune, as per the Bloomberg Billionaires Index.

Sequoia Capital: $800 Million

Sequoia Capital has been a major backer of Musk's SpaceX and the links between the billionaire and some people at the firm go back a long time. Sequoia partner Roelof Botha was chief financial officer at PayPal Holdings Inc. when Musk was its CEO two decades ago.

Vy Capital: $700 Million

Vy Capital is a Dubai-based tech investment firm. Its website says it has “a focus on category-defining technology companies with the potential to meaningfully impact humanity.” It has previously invested in Musk's ventures, including Neuralink and Boring Co.

Binance: $500 Million

This is the second high-profile investment in a media company for Binance, the world's largest cryptocurrency exchange. The firm, founded by billionaire Changpeng Zhao, has also invested in Forbes.

AH Capital Management: $400 Million

AH Capital is the investment advisor of A16Z and was co-founded by prominent venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Since Musk announced his plan to buy Twitter, Andreessen has encouraged the move, engaging with Musk on the social-media platform and even changing his biography to “shadow crew,” a jab at a Wall Street Journal article about those behind the scenes who encouraged the takeover.

Qatar Holding: $375 Million

Qatar, fittingly for Musk, is the world's richest country per capita. It has a $450 billion sovereign-wealth fund that is seeking to diversify the country's money by plowing into Asia and the U.S. after investing in Europe. The Qatar Investment Authority is the world's ninth-largest sovereign-wealth fund, according to SWF Institute data.

Aliya Capital Partners: $360 Million

Miami-based Aliya, led by CEO Ari Shrage, has investments in companies it deems innovative and disruptive. Late last year, it was part of a $125 million Series B funding round for Kodiak Robotics, a self-driving truck startup.

Fidelity Management & Research: $316.14 Million

Musk is also getting backing from some large U.S. institutional investors. Boston-based Fidelity Investments, led by Chief Executive Officer Abigail Johnson, ended 2021 with $4.5 trillion of discretionary assets.

Brookfield: $250 Million

Toronto-based Brookfield Asset Management oversees about $700 billion. CEO Bruce Flatt said recently in an interview with David Rubenstein that his key to success is to encourage employees to make small mistakes every day, “just don't make any really large mistakes.”

Strauss Capital: $150 Million

Strauss is a New York-based investment banking firm founded by Tom Strauss, a former co-head of the mergers and acquisitions group at Barclays Plc's U.S. investment-banking arm.

$100 Million or Less: BAMCO, DFJ Growth, Witkoff Capital, A.M. Management & Consulting, Honeycomb Asset Management, Key Wealth Advisers, Litani Ventures, Tresser Blvd 402

Musk secured investments from several other firms, in denominations of as little as $5 million.

He's still looking for more investors. He “will continue to have, discussions with certain existing holders of Common Stock (including Jack Dorsey) regarding the possibility of contributing such shares of Common Stock to Parent, at or immediately prior to the closing of the Merger, in order to retain an equity investment in Twitter following completion of the Merger,” according to Thursday's filing.