Elon Musk has become the world's first trillionaire following the initial public offering (IPO) of SpaceX, which was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange with a valuation of $1.77tn. Despite generating $18.7bn in revenue, SpaceX reported a net loss of nearly £4.28bn last year due to significant capital expenditures on AI infrastructure. Musk, who already held the title of the world's richest man with an estimated net worth of $696bn, now holds approximately $866bn in shares and options from the IPO. According to a new Oxfam analysis, Musk is now wealthier than the poorest 46% of the global人口.
Elon Musk fans come in many varieties. There are those who love his cars. There are those who love his rockets. There are those who for some reason consider Musk to be an inspiring champion of free speech. But all of his fanboys (and they are almost without exception boys, even if they reside in the bodies of grown men) consider him to be in a category of his own. “Jeff Bezos just sits on his yacht ,” says John Stringer, who runs a media channel called Tesla Owners of Silicon Valley . “That’s not Elon. Elon is literally working his butt off day in, day out. He’s a different type of billionaire.”
For Eric Mina, a YouTuber based in Scranton, Pennsylvania, the appropriate response is awe. “Look at all the things he’s accomplished!” he says. “He’s not trying to make a buck. He wants to be an interplanetary species and he’s actually going forward and doing it. That’s not the normal type of thinking that people have. They think: personal gain. He’s thinking bigger than that. So yes, he’s going to seem like he’s from another world.”
What’s interesting about these assessments is that as hyperbolic as they may be, they’re not entirely wrong. Elon Musk is indeed in a separate category from the other 2,700 or so billionaires on the planet in many respects. One is quite simply that he is the richest of all of them. Indeed, on Friday, following the stock market debut of his company SpaceX, he became the world’s first trillionaire. According to the Informa Connect Academy, which tracks the fortunes of the bariatrically wealthy, there are others on track to follow: the Indian tycoon Gautam Adani, the Indonesian mining magnate Prajogo Pangestu, the French luxury boss, Bernard Arnault, etc. But as with landing on Mars, one feels that being first is what counts.
“Musk has become a trillionaire not because of what he has done but because of what he promises to do.”
But Musk is “a different type of billionaire” in other senses too. One is the fact that his power is not merely financial. His portfolio of interests cuts across technology, energy, transportation, space, communications, biotech and, of course, politics. As of 2020, SpaceX has provided Nasa’s taxi service to the International Space Station. It is, as Musk reminded Joe Rogan in an interview last year, in the business of intercontinental ballistic missiles. “I invest in apocalyptic technologies, didn’t you know?” Then there are his Starlink satellites, which provide internet access to over 12 million subscribers worldwide including in remote and war-stricken areas such as Ukraine. There is his Neuralink project, promising a brain-human interface. And there is X, formerly Twitter, which, despite a mass exodus of users since Musk’s takeover, remains the world’s most popular news site, a data source for his Grok large-language model, and a megaphone for Musk’s political views — bought with the express intention to destroy parts of the public realm that he didn’t personally like, or which conflicted with his own ambitions.
For Guido Alfani, an economic historian at the University of Bocconi in Milan, this is all highly unusual from a world historical perspective. Alfani is the author of a history of the super-rich from antiquity to the tech age, Midas to Musk, if you will, entitled As Gods Among Men . He examines the power and influence of figures such as Alan Rufus, who commanded a fortune equivalent to £130 billion back in 11th-century England, and the Gilded Age banker J.P. Morgan whose cash reserves were so vast, he was able to save America from a disastrous bank-run during the 1907 Knickerbocker Crisis. Alfani has no qualms in asserting that Musk is the richest person ever to have lived.
Musk phones it in before the IPO. (Credit: Spencer Platt/Getty)
“Historically speaking, today’s super-rich are not only much wealthier in absolute terms but in relative terms too,” Alfani tells me. “If you compare Elon Musk’s wealth to the wealth of the median household in the US today, it is a much greater difference than, say, the difference between Cosimo de Medici and the average Florentine household in the mid-15th century.”
The main reason for this is to do with globalisation. Travel, and therefore trade, he explains, used to be really difficult. The wealth of the Medicis was geographically contained to the area around Florence with some limited trade overseas. Today, economic activity takes place on a global scale, which means more markets, more customers, more rewards. One way to look at that would be, in the past, every village had a rich person. Now we all live in one supersized global village, we all share the same rich people and they are accordingly supersized. (We share the same village idiots, too).
So, according to Alfani, the emergence of a figure like Musk isn’t so surprising. The arc of history bends towards the rich becoming much richer with only occasional ruptures: the Black Death, say, or the Second World War. Musk is only the latest, digital-age itera…
Read the full article at UnHerd →SpaceX is planning a $20 billion bond deal following its record-breaking initial public offering (IPO), which raised $86 billion.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on a financial transaction involving SpaceX without taking a stance on political issues. It focuses on economic activity and does not include any biased language, framing, or sourcing that would indicate a political lean.
SpaceX shares have declined as the initial excitement following its IPO begins to wane.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on stock price movements without taking a stance or using biased language. It presents a factual observation about market behavior.
SpaceX has made a $60 billion artificial intelligence acquisition, signaling a significant expansion into the AI sector. The move comes as SpaceX's market value continues to rise sharply following its initial public offering.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on a financial transaction and market performance without overtly favoring any political perspective. It focuses on economic developments related to a private company, which is generally considered apolitical in nature.
SpaceX's stock price has been rising since its initial public offering, potentially making it surpass Amazon in market value.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on financial performance without taking a stance or using biased language.
The initial public offering (IPO) for SpaceX has increased to $85.7 billion after underwriters exercised their greenshoe option, allowing them to purchase additional shares at the offer price.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on financial figures related to an IPO without taking a stance or using biased language. It focuses on factual data regarding the increase in the IPO value due to the greenshoe option being exercised by underwriters.
The article reports that SpaceX is poised to continue its upward trend following a record-breaking initial public offering (IPO) on Wall Street.
Bias read (Center): The article does not present any political framing, bias, or ideological slant. It simply reports on SpaceX's financial performance and market trajectory without taking a stance or using loaded language.
Australia's richest person, Gina Rinehart, has invested $1 billion in SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO), according to a report by The Wall Street Journal.
Bias read (Center): The article presents a factual statement without opinion, framing, or emphasis that would indicate a political lean. It simply relays information from The Wall Street Journal regarding an investment made by Gina Rinehart.
Gina Rinehart's Hancock Prospecting has made a 'significant investment' in Elon Musk's SpaceX, though the exact amount was not confirmed. Rinehart expressed confidence in Musk's leadership and the potential of SpaceX, highlighting its role in advancing American technology. SpaceX recently completed a record-breaking IPO, raising $75 billion and achieving a valuation of $2.1 trillion. The company plans ambitious projects such as launching millions of data centers into space and establishing colonies on the Moon and Mars, despite warnings that it may remain unprofitable.
Bias read (Center): The article presents factual information about an investment without overtly favoring any political perspective. It quotes Rinehart's statements but does not editorialize or present biased language. The content focuses on business developments rather than political issues.
Official sources cited
Gina Rinehart's company, Hancock Prospecting, has reportedly invested $1 billion in Elon Musk's SpaceX, aiming to collaborate on AI infrastructure. Rinehart praised Musk's leadership and technological achievements, highlighting SpaceX's contributions to space exploration and satellite communications, as well as its future potential in AI.
Bias read (Right): The article presents Gina Rinehart's investment in SpaceX with positive framing, emphasizing her admiration for Elon Musk's leadership and achievements. The language used ('exceptional person', 'patriotic and exceptional people') reflects a favorable view of Musk and his ventures, aligning more with
Official sources cited
Elon Musk stated during an interview with Reuters that SpaceX could generate up to $1 trillion in annual revenue by 2030.
Bias read (Center): The article reports a direct statement from Elon Musk without editorializing, framing, or contextual bias. The subject is economic and not politically charged.
The article discusses the admiration for Elon Musk among his followers, highlighting their perception of him as unique compared to other billionaires. It cites quotes from individuals such as John Stringer and Eric Mina, who praise Musk's work ethic and vision for humanity's future. The piece also notes Musk's status as the wealthiest individual globally.
Bias read (Center): The article presents perspectives from Musk supporters but does not adopt a clear ideological stance. It describes views of Musk's achievements without overtly praising or criticizing them, maintaining a balanced tone.
The article mentions three topics: an Iran peace deal, a SpaceX initial public offering (IPO), and concerns related to the World Cup. No further details are provided.
Bias read (Center): The article does not provide enough information to determine any political leaning. It simply lists three topics without commentary or context.
The article discusses how Wall Street facilitated SpaceX's historic initial public offering (IPO), highlighting the bankers' role in persuading investors to support Elon Musk's vision despite the company's significant financial losses and the transfer of full control to Musk.
Bias read (Center): The article presents a factual account of the IPO process without overtly biased language or selective sourcing. It describes the actions of bankers and investors without taking a clear ideological stance.
SpaceX's stock price surged by nearly 20% following a record-breaking $75 billion initial public offering, making Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on a financial event without taking a stance on political issues. It focuses on market performance and does not include any biased language, framing, or sourcing that would indicate a political lean.
The article explains what a 'greenshoe' option is in the context of SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO). It describes how this provision allows underwriters to purchase additional shares at the IPO price if there is strong demand, helping to stabilize the stock price after the initial offering.
Bias read (Center): The article provides an explanatory overview of financial terminology related to an IPO without taking a stance or showing bias toward any political perspective. The content is purely informational and does not involve political figures, policies, or ideological positions.
The article discusses Elon Musk's influence and how his public persona has translated into financial success through SpaceX's potential initial public offering (IPO).
Bias read (Center): The article does not exhibit clear ideological slant. It focuses on the business implications of SpaceX's potential IPO without taking a stance on political issues.
SpaceX's stock price surged following its initial public offering (IPO), pushing its valuation above $2 trillion and bringing it closer to Amazon's market value.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on a financial event without taking a stance or using biased language. It focuses on factual data regarding SpaceX's valuation and does not present any ideological framing.
SpaceX launched a Falcon 9 rocket carrying Starlink satellites shortly before the company's highly anticipated initial public offering (IPO), which was expected to be the largest in Wall Street history.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on a technical event (rocket launch) and a financial milestone (IPO) without taking a stance or using biased language. The content is factual and neutral in tone.
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Bias read (Center): The article reports on a business event without overtly favoring any political perspective. It mentions Elon Musk's promise regarding Mars but does not frame it with political bias.
Elon Musk's SpaceX had a successful Wall Street debut with shares rising as much as 31% following its $75 billion initial public offering, the largest in history.
Bias read (Center): The article reports on a financial event without taking a stance on political issues. It focuses on the market performance and scale of the IPO without editorializing or biased language.
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