SpaceX IPO: Tech mogul Elon Musk officially becomes world’s first trillionaire
The global financial landscape witnessed history on Friday as Elon Musk, the polarizing and ambitious billionaire, officially became the world’s first-ever trillionaire. The historic milestone follows a record-shattering $75 billion Initial Public Offering (IPO) by his aerospace company, SpaceX.
At 54 years old, the South African-born entrepreneur has achieved a net worth that completely dwarfs his closest billionaire rivals, redefining modern wealth and corporate influence.
A wealth gap beyond imagination
Before SpaceX shares hit the public market on Friday, Forbes had already pinned Musk’s net worth at an astonishing $780 billion—putting him lightyears ahead of Alphabet (Google) co-founder Larry Page.
With the SpaceX IPO officially trading, Reuters calculations show Musk’s total net worth crossing the $1.1 trillion mark. The bulk of his wealth now rests on his majority stake in SpaceX, valued at roughly $866 billion, alongside his holdings in electric vehicle giant Tesla and other ventures.
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“The second richest person has been hovering around $300 billion, so about less than one-third of what Musk is worth now,” noted Matt Durot, deputy editor at Forbes Wealth. He added that only one other person in history—Oracle founder Larry Ellison—has ever even crossed the $400 billion threshold.
The ‘Elon Premium’ and the ‘Muskonomy’
Financial analysts are scrambling to make sense of the valuation, with many pointing to a phenomenon called the “Elon Premium”—where investors throw traditional financial metrics out the window simply out of faith in Musk’s vision.
The sprawling ecosystem of his businesses, which includes Tesla, SpaceX, Neuralink (brain implants), The Boring Company (tunneling), and social media platform X (formerly Twitter), is now widely referred to by market observers as the “Muskonomy.”
“Much like Tesla, SpaceX is a bet on Elon Musk,” said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital. “A market cap of $1.5 trillion to $2 trillion is best characterized as the ‘Elon Musk premium.'”
Even former rivals have been forced to acknowledge his impact. JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, who once engaged in a prolonged legal battle with Musk, recently praised him publicly. “Elon is the Edison of our time,” Dimon stated, adding that the two had “hugged it out” and labeling Musk as “our Einstein.”
Power, politics, and polarisation
Despite his unprecedented financial success, Musk remains a highly controversial figure. Unlike traditional tycoons like Warren Buffett, who won over the public with a modest, folksy persona, Musk operates with a “no-filter” style primarily driven by his social media presence.
While supporters view him as a generational genius, critics accuse him of wielding dangerous, oligarch-like power. His deep foray into politics has been particularly divisive. Last year, Musk served in U.S. President Donald Trump’s Department of Government Efficiency (DOGE). However, the alliance later fractured over policy and spending disagreements, leading to a highly publicized feud before both sides struck a more conciliatory tone.
This political activism has carried real business risks. In 2025, Tesla faced severe consumer boycotts and protests in several international markets, leading to weakening sales as consumers reacted to his political stances. Furthermore, corporate governance experts continue to flag potential conflicts of interest regarding how closely tied these multi-billion-dollar companies are to the whims of just one individual.
From Pretoria to the stars
Born in Pretoria, South Africa, to a Canadian mother and a South African father, Musk immigrated to North America, graduating from the University of Pennsylvania in 1997.
He took over as Tesla’s CEO in 2008, defying legacy automakers who mocked the idea that an independent startup could mass-produce electric cars profitably. Today, Tesla is the world’s most valuable automaker.
With SpaceX now acting as the crown jewel of his trillion-dollar empire, global investors are betting that Musk can replicate his automotive success in deep space and artificial intelligence—even if the commercial viability of his interstellar dreams remains decades away.
