SpaceX IPO to make Musk a trillionaire and mint new billionaires

SpaceX filed its IPO prospectus publicly on May 21, seeking to raise up to $80 billion at a valuation approaching $2 trillion. The roadshow is expected to kick off on June 4, with pricing to follow a week later and a Nasdaq debut set for June 12 under the ticker SPCX.

At that valuation, Elon Musk’s 5.1 billion shares in the company, plus roughly 350 million options with a strike price of $8.39, will push his net worth above $1 trillion. The Bloomberg Billionaires Index currently places his wealth at approximately $722 billion. Based on how SpaceX has traded on private markets recently, Barron’s calculated his stake is already worth approximately $830 billion. Adding his $290 billion in Tesla stock, his total net worth has already crossed the $1 trillion threshold on some measures. If SpaceX prices above $1.7 trillion, the crossing becomes official. The world would have its first trillionaire.

Musk is not the only one whose wealth gets rewritten.

Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX’s president and chief operating officer and one of its earliest employees, holds a stake currently valued at approximately $1 billion. At the $2 trillion valuation, that position would be worth approximately $2 billion.

Bret Johnsen, SpaceX’s chief financial officer, holds a stake currently valued at about $695 million. At $2 trillion, that becomes approximately $1.4 billion.

Antonio Gracias, a SpaceX board member and founder of Valor Equity Partners, holds a stake through Valor funds currently valued at approximately $5.9 billion. At the IPO valuation, that position would be worth approximately $11.5 billion, making him one of the wealthiest individuals in the United States.

Luke Nosek, a PayPal co-founder and SpaceX board member who was among the company’s earliest institutional investors, holds a stake currently valued at approximately $2.5 billion, which would reach approximately $5.3 billion at the IPO valuation.

The wealth creation extends well beyond the inner circle. Hedge fund Darsana Capital Partners has 60 percent of its assets under management tied up in SpaceX and the IPO could produce paper gains above $10 billion on its position. Hedge fund D1 Capital Partners, which acquired its SpaceX shares for approximately $600 million, is already sitting on paper gains of roughly $9 billion at private market prices, with the IPO pushing that figure higher still.

SpaceX was founded in 2002 to challenge Boeing and Lockheed Martin in the launch market. By pioneering reusable rocket boosters that land autonomously after delivering payloads to orbit, it slashed launch costs and became the world’s dominant launch provider. It now serves as the top launch provider for both NASA and the Pentagon, which is counting on SpaceX to help develop President Donald Trump’s proposed Golden Dome missile defence shield.

The company’s Starlink satellite internet division, which now provides connectivity across more than 130 countries including growing coverage across Africa, has become a significant and fast-scaling revenue stream alongside the launch business.

Musk was born in Pretoria, South Africa, and emigrated to Canada at 17 before building his businesses in the United States. His net worth, already the largest in human history, is about to reach a number the world has never seen before.