Blitz Bureau
NEW DELHI: Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX completed the largest initial public offering in history, with investors pushing the rocket and satellite company’s market value to about $2.1 trillion on its first day of trading.
Shares of SpaceX closed at $160.95, up more than 19 per cent from their IPO price of $135, capping one of the strongest major market debuts in recent years. The surge lifted the value of Musk’s stake in the company and cemented his position as the wealthiest person in history.
SpaceX shares gained 19 per cent on their first trading day following Wall Street’s biggest-ever IPO, valuing the company at more than $2 trillion. CNN reported that Musk, who owns nearly half the company, became the world’s first trillionaire as a result of the listing.
The Wall Street Journal reported that SpaceX sold $75 billion worth of shares in the offering, giving the company an initial valuation of $1.77 trillion. By the close of trading, that figure had climbed to $2.1 trillion, placing SpaceX among the most valuable publicly traded companies in the United States.
The blockbuster debut marks a milestone not only for Musk but also for the commercial space industry, which SpaceX helped transform over the past two decades.
Founded in 2002, SpaceX started as a high-risk venture focused on developing reusable rockets. The company survived multiple launch failures and periods of financial uncertainty before securing NASA contracts that helped establish it as a major force in the global space sector.
