Elon Musk Tops $1 Trillion After SpaceX’s $75B IPO

Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire Friday after SpaceX raised $75 billion in an initial public offering that valued the company at about $1.77 trillion. Shares opened at $158.51, boosting the value of Musk’s majority stake in the aerospace company.

The offering was the largest IPO in U.S. history and made SpaceX the largest single holding in Musk’s portfolio. Analysts estimate his SpaceX stake at roughly $765 billion and his Tesla holdings at about $279 billion. Neuralink and The Boring Company are each estimated near $3 billion.

Some calculations that include stock awards scheduled to vest project Musk’s total net worth could exceed $1.1 trillion once SpaceX began trading. Market activity and regulatory filings will determine how much of that paper wealth becomes permanent.

Investors pushed SpaceX to a valuation that exceeded Tesla’s contribution to Musk’s fortune. SpaceX operates the Starlink satellite internet service, provides commercial and national security launch services, and pursues related technology including artificial intelligence projects.

Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, described the valuation as the ‘Elon Musk premium’ and said a market cap between $1.5 trillion and $2 trillion challenges traditional valuation methods.

Matt Durot, deputy editor at Forbes Wealth, highlighted the scale of Musk’s lead over other wealthy individuals, noting the second-richest person has been near $300 billion and only one other person has reached about $400 billion.

Supporters point to Musk’s record building companies across electric vehicles, space and infrastructure. Critics have raised questions about corporate governance and the concentration of influence in a single entrepreneur.

Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and attended the University of Pennsylvania. He first gained wide attention for Tesla and SpaceX and later expanded into Neuralink, The Boring Company and X, the social platform formerly known as Twitter.

The SpaceX IPO shifted investor focus to satellite services, launch operations and related technology development. Ongoing trading reports and regulatory filings over coming months will clarify ownership changes and the impact on Musk’s reported net worth.