Name: The billionaire’s curse.

Age: Of the moment.

Appearance: Mostly on Twitter.

What is it? The state of being absolutely loaded – and condemned for it.

Who is the principal sufferer? The inventor, entrepreneur and much-ridiculed ludicrously rich person Elon Musk. “The ‘billionaire’ label, when used by media, is almost always meant to devalue and denigrate the subject,” he tweeted when the press failed to take his plan to save the trapped Thai football team sufficiently seriously.

What was his plan? He was going to use a teleportation machine à la Star Trek to beam the boys and their coach out of the cave.

You’re making this up. Only slightly. He had various notions – underwater airtubes, a miniature submarine, digging into the cave from above. Most pundits dismissed his ideas as impractical and a publicity stunt.

Hence his Twitter fightback. Indeed. “This reaction has shaken my opinion of many people,” he said. “We were asked to create a backup option and worked hard to do so. Checked with dive team many times to confirm it was worthwhile. Now it’s there for anyone who needs it in future. Something’s messed up if this is not a good thing.”

And all because he is a billionaire. “I wasn’t called that until my companies got to a certain size, but reality is that I still do the same science and engineering as before. Just the scale has changed,” he said on Twitter.

How much is he worth? About $20bn (£15bn).

How were his tweets received? People with fewer than $20bn tended to be dismissive. Many were eager to relieve him of some of the burden. One radical political commentator praised his courage for discussing the “B-word” and the oppressions that underpin it.

So, if not b**********, how does Musk want to be labelled? As a scientist and an engineer. He says his wealth is irrelevant and merely a stick with which to beat him. He has attacked the “holier than thou” media for singling out him and his company Tesla for criticism.

Fake news! You’ve got it. He has suggested setting up a website, called Pravda, to rate the reliability of reporters.

Not to be confused with: The equally put-upon billionaire in the White House. While sharing Donald Trump’s obsession with the media, Musk is richer and harder to pin down politically.

Do say: “Who wants to be a billionaire?”

Don’t say: “Imagine the oppression and marginalisation you face on a daily basis as one of the world’s most persecuted minorities.”