Imagine if Elon retired after selling PayPal. He had $20 mil in his pocket. Decided to keep 10, and invest 10 in SpaceX.
10 mil was A LOT of money when he got it. It still is, but the value was so much more back then in terms of investments.
What if he didn't?
How many years would have passed until NASA or someone else decided it's time to reuse rockets?
And it's just an example. tesla is another good one. How many years of setbacks would have happened if it weren't for him?
Never mind what he does with these companies for his pure joy (launching a tesla into space, etc). I'm talking about the advancements he powered.
Of course, he has his moments. Everyone does, he just chooses to display them publicly.
Think about Mars. If he pulls it off(and I'm sure he will) he will go down in history as the man who colonized another planet. Let that sink in for a moment.
On Earth, most people thank the gods for this planet. Imagine people on Mars, 2,000 years from now thanking Elon he pushed through.
An extreme example, I know. I'm just pointing out how big this is and why he doesn't want to retire, nor he should.
Imagine if the Boring Company will finally gain momentum. How fast does the Government build new subways? Imagine if this guy drills them 20 times faster?
Don't even need to go into PayPal.
Now take Jeff Bezos, and name one thing he'll go down in history for. The only one I can come up with is earning billions on selling commodity for people. Because that's how he made his money.