
Elon Musk has just become the world’s first billionaire.
With EspaceX opening Friday on the Nasdaq at $150 a share, his stake in the company is worth more than $766 billion. Combined with sound Tesla stake, which is worth $280 billion, Musk’s net worth from the two companies as of Friday was about $1.05 trillion.
SpaceX’s IPO added more than $180 billion to Musk’s fortune. He is now worth more than the five richest billionaires in the world combined. His personal net worth is greater than the national GDPs of Taiwan, Ireland or Sweden.
Musk’s crowning as the first person in history to be worth $1 trillion is likely to fuel debate over wealth inequality and the rise of America’s richest tech founders. In addition to creating the world’s first billionaire, SpaceX’s IPO also created thousands of new millionaires and several new billionaires among employees and executives who own stock.
SpaceX shares were trading up about 20% shortly after their official debut, at about $164 each. This values the company at around $2 trillion.
Tesla shares were down about 1% as of midday Friday, at about $395 each.
