Musk’s fortune would more than double on US$1.5 trillion SpaceX

[NEW YORK] The richest man in the world could more than double his US$460.6 billion fortune if SpaceX succeeds in going public next year at a valuation of US$1.5 trillion.

Elon Musk’s stake in his space company alone would be worth more than US$625 billion if that were to occur, according to calculations by the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, up from US$136 billion today. That does not include his multibillion-US dollar stakes in a number of other enterprises, including the world’s most valuable carmaker, Tesla.

His total fortune would be US$952 billion, up about US$491 billion from its current level, according to the calculations, which use a US$1.5 trillion pre-money valuation for its estimate.

An initial public offering opens up the second clear path for Musk to become the world’s first trillionaire, after last month securing the first 12-figure pay package at Tesla.

Musk owns roughly 42 per cent of Starbase, Texas-based SpaceX, according to Bloomberg’s wealth index, which uses filings from the Federal Communications Commission and dilutions calculations from recent funding rounds to estimate his stake.

To measure the value of Musk’s current SpaceX stake, the index uses a December 2024 deal involving a US$1.25 billion secondary sale at a nearly US$350 billion valuation. It’s worth about US$136 billion after a liquidity discount used for private companies is applied.

Some SpaceX shares were sold in secondary transactions at a valuation of about US$400 billion earlier this year, but that figure is not included since the amount of stock sold couldn’t be determined. Data provider Pitchbook calculated it at less than US$50 million.

Ambitious goals

Musk’s path to becoming a trillionaire, whether it is through Tesla or SpaceX, is not without challenges.

At Tesla, Musk’s pay package only vests as the company meets certain targets. The most ambitious goals include hitting a market value of US$8.5 trillion, up from roughly US$1.5 trillion currently, and adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortisation of US$400 billion, compared with less than US$13 billion last year.

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Tesla’s board justified the package by arguing it was needed to get the full attention of their chief executive officer.

At the same time, a US$1.5 trillion IPO for SpaceX, where Musk is also CEO, would mean nearly matching the record set by Saudi Aramco when it went public in 2019 at a US$1.7 trillion valuation. The oil giant pulled in revenue of about US$360 billion the year before its listing. SpaceX is said to expect revenue of roughly US$15 billion this year, Bloomberg reported.

Still, SpaceX has a track record of rapidly-growing valuations and plenty of investor enthusiasm. The company, which builds rockets and operates the Starlink satellite Internet service, is working on a new deal that will allow employees to sell around US$2 billion worth of stock at a valuation of more than US$800 billion, Bloomberg reported.

If finalised, that would again make it the world’s most valuable private company after losing that crown to OpenAI earlier this year, and add more than US$180 billion to Musk’s net worth.

If Musk’s other paths to becoming a trillionaire do not work out, he still has xAI, which hit a US$200 billion valuation in September. BLOOMBERG