ELON MUSK HAS become the world’s first trillionaire after investors piled into SpaceX during the biggest stock market debut in history, adding hundreds of billions of dollars to the tech billionaire’s fortune in a matter of hours.
Shares in Musk’s rocket, satellite and artificial intelligence conglomerate surged after the company raised $75 billion (€64.84 billion) in a record-breaking initial public offering on Friday, valuing SpaceX at roughly $2 trillion (€1.73 trillion) and pushing Musk’s estimated net worth above $1 trillion (€864.53 billion).
That’s a one followed by 12 zeroes. It would take the average Irish worker more than 18 million years to earn as much as Musk’s amassed fortune.
To put that figure in perspective, Musk is now worth significantly more than the entire annual economic output of Ireland, and is now approximately worth the GDP of Switzerland or Poland.
The SpaceX flotation smashed the previous IPO record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019 and was heavily oversubscribed, with institutional and retail investors racing to buy shares in the company.
Trading under the ticker SPCX on the Nasdaq exchange, SpaceX shares jumped more than 20% shortly after markets opened, lifting the company’s valuation from around $1.8 trillion to more than $2 trillion.
The rally instantly added hundreds of billions of dollars to Musk’s paper wealth because much of his fortune is tied up in stock holdings rather than cash.
Musk now has an estimated net worth of around $1.1 trillion, according to Forbes, making him the first person in history to cross the trillion-dollar threshold.
Despite the eye-watering figure, Musk does not have $1 trillion sitting in a bank account. Most of his wealth is tied to shares in SpaceX and Tesla, meaning his net worth can rise or fall dramatically depending on stock market movements.
A trillion dollars is difficult to comprehend. If someone saved €1,000 every day, it would take almost 2.74 million years to accumulate €1 trillion.
Speaking during a launch event in Starbase, Texas, Musk used the IPO to pitch his long-term vision for the company.
“SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the Moon, take you to Mars, and ultimately beyond,” he said.
The company, founded by Musk in 2002, began as a private rocket manufacturer but has since expanded into satellite internet provider Starlink and artificial intelligence firm xAI, which owns chatbot Grok and social media platform X.
Investors are betting that SpaceX can dominate a range of future industries including AI infrastructure, satellite communications and space transport.
However, the company remains heavily loss-making. SpaceX reported revenues of almost $19 billion last year but also recorded billions of dollars in losses as it invested heavily in AI and space technology.
Some analysts have questioned whether the valuation can be justified.
Research firm Morningstar estimated this week that SpaceX is worth less than half its current market value and warned that many of Musk’s most ambitious plans, including large-scale space infrastructure and a permanent human settlement on Mars, remain unproven.
Musk’s new milestone comes despite growing controversy around his political interventions.
The billionaire, who previously served under US President Donald Trump for a stint in 2025, has spent the past two years using X to amplify far-right figures and anti-immigration campaigns across Europe and Britain.
Earlier this year, Ireland’s Data Protection Commission opened a formal inquiry into X over Grok’s generation of sexualised and non-consensual images, while regulators across Europe continue to investigate the platform over a range of content moderation and privacy concerns.
Nonetheless, today’s blockbuster market debut suggests investors remain willing to back Musk, even as he becomes increasingly controversial.
The IPO is also expected to create thousands of new millionaires among current and former SpaceX employees.
Additional reporting from AFP