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Eccentric billionaires Richard Branson and Elon Musk have a lot in common.
They both have more money than anyone should have and they both do deeply weird and unnecessary stuff with it, like shoot things into outer space on rockets that cost enough to solve world hunger.
So you'd expect guys of this caliber to have wildly fancy houses, right? Well in Branson's case you'd be wrong--at least according to a photo of him and Musk he posted to Twitter mere hours before his record-breaking spaceflight on his own Virgin Galactic spacecraft, Unity 22.
And as big a deal as space travel by a non-astronaut on a spacecraft that was not designed by NASA is, all anyone on the internet could see was that Branson weirdly has the same kitchen your mom had in 1992.
Big day ahead. Great to start the morning with a friend. Feeling good, feeling excited, feeling ready. \n\nWatch #Unity22 launch and livestream TODAY at 7:30 am PT | 10:30 am ET | 3:30 pm BST.\n\n@virgingalactic @elonmusk https://virgingalactic.com\u00a0pic.twitter.com/FRQqrQEbH8— Richard Branson (@Richard Branson) 1626006446
Now we say this with all the respect in the world, but what in God's name are those 1990s Sears Cabinet Refacing Services kitchen cupboards? Why those very 80s porcelain drawer pulls? What is that ceramic tile backsplash and why does it look like the walls of the shower you shared with your little brother back in Omaha?
Does Richard Branson--a billionaire! who went to space!--live in a McMansion from 1992? The model home from Arrested Development had more style than this. What on EARTH is going on in Richard Branson's house?!
On Twitter, this quandary quickly overshadowed Branson's space flight when Last Week Tonight writer Kelsea Bauman-Murphy reposted the photo and cut right to the chase.
to have billions of dollars and THOSE cabinets? what's the point.pic.twitter.com/GK83UwAE7r— Kelsea Bauman-Murphy (@Kelsea Bauman-Murphy) 1626112262
Truly what IS the point? She's just asking the hard questions!
Bauman-Murphy's take on Branson's kitchen really struck a nerve, because it instantly went viral--and inspired a full-on roast-fest in the replies.
billionaires love to say they create jobs but I can see six unemployed people in this picture: interior designer, contractor, personal shopper, tailor, hairstylist, and photographer— ben "compliment retweeter" flores (@ben "compliment retweeter" flores) 1626189795
Once your net worth is over $1B everything on your house has to be post modern. thosearetherules.pic.twitter.com/x764HrwMK5— Noslekrot (@Noslekrot) 1626204733
someone needs to graph out the inverse relationship between money and taste. I swear once you get into hundreds of millions you lose all proportionality, just the most scammable. which is why we need to resloganize eating the rich so they think it's something they want— Adriana (@Adriana) 1626189794
House Hunters Couple: Those tiles gotta go.pic.twitter.com/CJrJWvZCvo— Kirt (@Kirt) 1626221094
Literally the first thing I thought when I saw this picture— Bobby Berk (@Bobby Berk) 1626294884
Linoleum. The floors are linoleum. Like an elementary school.— Not Brendan, somebody else (@Not Brendan, somebody else) 1626167001
It gets worse the more you look around the roomhttps://twitter.com/preachy_spice/status/1414643478278123520\u00a0\u2026— Runaway Depression Gun \ud83d\udef8 (@Runaway Depression Gun \ud83d\udef8) 1626269682
I know that face.pic.twitter.com/HJlAOZvaBe— Kristal Gall \ud83d\udd2e (@Kristal Gall \ud83d\udd2e) 1626274395
It turned out there was a very simple explanation for this weirdness. As Elon Musk tweeted in response, it's not actually Branson's house in the photo, but a rental he was staying in before the big space launch.
It was Richard\u2019s rental house, which overall is great, but I agree regarding the cabinets haha. This was 3am, day of flight. Wasn\u2019t expecting this brutal pic of me to be posted, but oh well.— Elon Musk (@Elon Musk) 1626279800
But that still left unanswered questions for many on Twitter.
Thank you for articulating a vague discontentment I couldn\u2019t quite pinpoint.— csd (@csd) 1626152987
which brings me to my next point: the man doesn't hem his pants. give some of that precious money to a tailor, my guy.— Kelsea Bauman-Murphy (@Kelsea Bauman-Murphy) 1626114573
Here's hoping there's better cabinets on Mars or wherever Branson is planning on building his inevitable space mansion.