SpaceX's record $75bn IPO makes Elon Musk the first trillionaire and turns a welder into a millionaire

Debut on Nasdaq

SpaceX shares closed at $160.95 on Friday, up 19.2% from the $135 IPO price, after the largest initial public offering in stock-market history. The company raised $75 billion, more than double the previous record of $29.4 billion set by Saudi Aramco in 2019. Trading under the ticker SPCX on the Nasdaq, the stock opened at $150, hit an intraday high of $176.52, and then eased before closing. Post-market trading pushed the price another 3.5% higher to $166.76.

Musk becomes first trillionaire

The surge pushed founder Elon Musk's net worth past the hundred-billion mark into trillionaire territory, the first person ever to breach that threshold. Most of his wealth is tied up in SpaceX and Tesla equity, not cash, and a lock-up period of 366 days prevents him from selling the newly public shares immediately. The milestone prompted comparisons with whole economies: his fortune now rivals Switzerland's annual GDP and could theoretically buy every residential property in a major US city, according to an analysis by Newsweek.

“For that amount, he could buy more than two million homes in the US.”

A welder's windfall

The IPO also produced a life-changing sum for Juan Hernandez, a Mexican immigrant who worked as a welder at SpaceX for a decade. When he joined in 2015, he received a starter stock grant worth $10,000. He did not know what SpaceX was at the time.

“I thought: I don't know what SpaceX is, but let's give it a try. It was just another contract job for me.”

Over the years he rose to a manager role and now works at Jeff Bezos's Blue Origin, but he held on to about 6,500 shares. At Friday's close, his stake was worth $1,046,175. Hernandez said he plans to keep working and to teach his three children, including a 16-year-old daughter who already owns Meta shares, about investing.

Polish and European space ties

SpaceX is also the launcher of choice for the Polish-Finnish satellite maker Iceye, which this week raised €450 million at a €10 billion valuation. Iceye Polska president Witold Witkowicz praised the relationship.

“SpaceX has a long-term vision. We are a great customer, we collaborate and we are happy with them. On the commercial side, a huge part of the world uses the services of this one company.”

The American firm operates roughly 10,000 of the 14,000 to 16,000 active satellites orbiting Earth, underlining its dominance in the sector.

The bet on a loss-making giant

Despite generating billions in losses, SpaceX attracted enormous investor demand, with 30 percent of the retail allocation going to individual buyers. Goldman Sachs and Morgan Stanley led the deal, which carries a greenshoe option for an additional $11.25 billion. MSCI and FTSE Russell cleared the way for fast index inclusion, while S&P Dow Jones Indices kept its 12-month trading and GAAP-profitability requirements. Morningstar estimated a fair value of just $63 per share, well below the trading price, but bulls are betting on the vision of cheap space access, global satellite internet, and interplanetary expansion.

SpaceX (2026)75

Saudi Aramco (2019)29.4

SpaceX (2026)

75 $ billion

Saudi Aramco (2019)

29.4 $ billion

Data from the article text