Elon Musk poised to become world's first trillionaire as SpaceX IPO raises $75 billion

New Delhi: Elon Musk has become the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX completed what is being described as the largest initial public offering in history, raising $75 billion by selling shares at $135 each and giving the rocket and satellite company a market valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion.

According to estimates by Reuters and Forbes based on company filings, Musk's net worth crossed $1.1 trillion when SpaceX began trading on the Nasdaq on Thursday under the ticker symbol "SPCX," marking the first time an individual's fortune has exceeded the trillion-dollar threshold.

SpaceX IPO shatters records

SpaceX sold 555.6 million shares at $135 each in the offering on June 11. According to Bloomberg, the offering was more than twice the size of the previous record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019, and demand from investors was strong enough that orders exceeded available shares by more than four times.

From Pretoria to a trillion dollars

Born in Pretoria, South Africa, in 1971, Musk studied at the University of Pennsylvania before embarking on a career that would reshape multiple industries. He took over as Tesla's CEO in 2008, betting that electric vehicles could become mainstream while offering high performance and software-driven innovation. Tesla's rise helped accelerate the global automotive industry's shift towards electric vehicles, and Musk has since expanded his interests through companies such as Neuralink, which develops brain-computer interfaces, and The Boring Company, a tunnelling startup.

Much of his fortune is now tied to his stake in SpaceX, estimated to be worth roughly $866 billion. Combined with his holdings in Tesla and several other ventures, the IPO has cemented his position as the wealthiest person in history. Before the offering, his net worth was estimated at around $780 billion.

Matt Durot, deputy editor at Forbes Wealth, told Reuters that the nearest rival in wealth was hovering around $300 billion, less than a third of Musk's current estimated worth. "And only one other person, Larry Ellison, has ever been worth $400 billion," Durot added.

The 'Elon premium'

Analysts have long noted what market observers describe as the "Elon premium" — a valuation boost driven by investor confidence in Musk's ability to turn ambitious ideas into large commercial enterprises. "Much like Tesla, SpaceX is a bet on Elon Musk," Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital, told Reuters.

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon recently echoed the sentiment, calling Musk "the Edison of our time" during a conversation with him.

SpaceX's IPO valuation reflects investor expectations around the company's ambitions in space exploration, satellite communications and artificial intelligence, even as questions remain over the commercial profitability timeline for some of its technologies.