Elon Musk becomes world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX IPO

Elon Musk’s stake in SpaceX pushed his net worth past the $1 trillion mark after the company priced its initial public offering at $135 per share. The shares, which will trade under the ticker SPCX on the Nasdaq, are set to begin trading on Friday morning. Musk holds about 42% of SpaceX, roughly 4.8 billion shares, plus stock options that add further value to his holdings.

Before the offering, Forbes estimated Musk’s wealth at $813 billion, already far above the second-richest individual, Google co-founder Larry Page. The IPO added roughly $192 billion to Musk’s valuation, bringing his total to just over $1.005 trillion, according to the filing.

The valuation places Musk’s wealth in the same range as the gross domestic product of the world’s smaller economies; only 19 countries have GDPs exceeding $1 trillion, World Bank data shows.

"Elon Musk's rise to trillionaire status marks a new pinnacle of oligarchy," said Nabil Ahmed, senior director of economic justice at Oxfam America.

Analysts note that the stock price could move higher or lower after trading begins, which would affect Musk’s net worth accordingly. The IPO is also expected to create significant wealth for many SpaceX employees and early investors, with estimates that thousands of workers could become millionaires.

Musk’s net worth now exceeds the combined wealth of the bottom 46% of the global population, according to Oxfam.