SpaceX founder Elon Musk revealed the people he looks up to - both in today's modern world and from history. The Tesla CEO has gained popularity for his extraordinary vision and goals.

In a video with Mahalo, as shown below, Elon Musk admitted how he looks up to big names in the tech industry such as Microsoft's Bill Gates, former Apple CEO Steve Jobs. He also admires his friends, the brains behind Google, Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

The SpaceX founder and Tesla CEO shared how he looks up to Bill Gates for his philanthropic efforts with the Bill Gates Foundation. He also holds Warren Buffett in high esteem especially "on the investing side."

As for historical people, Musk admitted that he admires Thomas Edison, Oscar Wilde and, of course, Nikola Tesla. "There's a lot of great people out there and I think also, historically, guys like Edison, Tesla, obviously we're big fans of Tesla (laughs)," he said.

"He's well-known in the scientific community. He's not as well-known in the popular mindset so that's why Tesla Motors is named after him... There are lots of interesting people in history."

Entrepreneur reported that Musk was the inspiration for director Jon Favreau's Tony Stark in "Iron Man." Robert Downey Jr., who portrays the tech tycoon in the film, convinced the director to talk with the SpaceX founder in person.

"Downey was right," the "Iron Man" director wrote in a TIME article about Elon Musk. "Elon is a paragon of enthusiasm, good humor and curiosity - a Renaissance man in an era that needs them."

It's no wonder that Elon Musk is deemed as the real-life "Iron Man." As of June this year, he has an estimated net worth of $12.7 billion. This makes him the 83rd wealthiest person in the world.

Career lessons that everyone can learn from the SpaceX founder is to learn to take risks and be persistent. Musk also never does things for the money. Instead, he focuses on problems that can affect the future of humanity.