On June 12, Elon Musk became the world's first trillionaire after shares of his rocket company SpaceX soared during the biggest stock market debut.
The Tesla and SpaceX founder elegantly cemented his status as the world's richest person, with a combined net worth of $1.11 trillion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. The rocket, telecommunications and artificial intelligence (AI) company was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange with a valuation of $2.2 trillion.
The company said its shares would be offered at $135 each, but trading began at $150 and briefly reached $176.50 in a show of investor enthusiasm for potential space-related businesses and companies associated with Musk.
SpaceX shares closed Friday at around $161.
SpaceX's initial public offering (IPO) raised $75 billion from investors and underwriters before the company's shares went public on the open stock market on Friday.
Musk's 42% stake in SpaceX gives him essentially unilateral control over everything it does. He can spend the invested money as he pleases.
According to Bloomberg, his SpaceX shares were worth $767.1 billion at the close of trading. Musk also owns $168 billion in Tesla stock and another $116.4 billion in Tesla options.
Musk's status as the world's first trillionaire immediately sparked a debate about wealth inequality. His fortune is now comparable to the entire economic output of Poland or Switzerland.
Such unheard-of wealth has already made Musk a powerful and divisive figure in global politics.
He donated hundreds of millions of dollars to US President Donald Trump's re-election campaign after criticizing the country's leadership, and for several months last year Musk headed the Department of Government Efficiency (Doge).
Through drastic cuts to government spending, Musk was responsible for the closure of the United States Agency for International Development (USAID).
Such cuts could cause more than 14 million additional deaths by 2030, according to a warning published by researchers in the medical journal Lancet.
He has also criticized leaders in the United Kingdom and elsewhere, often on issues such as immigration and racial division.
Musk has repeatedly has clashed with UK Prime Minister Sir Keir Starmer, including over the murder of 18-year-old British student Henry Novak.
Democratic US senators Bernie Sanders and Elizabeth Warren were among a host of politicians to condemn the trillionaire milestone. Warren said it should be a "wake-up call" and argued that it highlights the need for wealth taxes.
However, Musk is a trillionaire only on paper, as it is almost entirely tied to the value of his stakes in Tesla and now SpaceX. He cannot sell any SpaceX shares for at least a year.
SpaceX's public listing is also expected to make more than 4,400 current and former employees millionaires through shares in the company that were given to them as part of their compensation.
SpaceX's valuation is largely based on optimism about potential future profits, in contrast to the financial results it has demonstrated so far.
SpaceX also manufactures and launches Starlink internet satellites, and through this year's acquisition of xAI, another company owned and operated by Musk, SpaceX has also entered the artificial intelligence business.
SpaceX said it will use the money to "fuel its growth strategy" around rockets, satellites for its growing Starlink internet service and AI, including speculative plans to build data centers in orbit.
Nancy Tengler, who heads Laffer Tengler Investments and has placed an order to buy SpaceX shares, called the company's artificial intelligence business a "money-burning" business despite Musk's ambitions for the segment.
"Our investment horizon is three, five and even 10 years," Tengler said.
She also expects SpaceX to merge with Tesla within the next two years, potentially creating a company worth more than either on its own.
As stated in its IPO prospectus, SpaceX's mission is: "To build the systems and technologies necessary to make life multiplanetary, understand the true nature of the universe and extend the light of consciousness to the stars."