NEW YORK CITY, New York: Elon Musk has become the world's first trillionaire after SpaceX completed a record-breaking US$75 billion initial public offering, cementing his position as the richest person on the planet and underscoring investor confidence in his business empire.

The landmark IPO, the largest in history, values SpaceX at roughly $1.75 trillion. According to Reuters' calculations based on company filings, Musk's holdings in SpaceX, Tesla, and his other ventures now give him a net worth exceeding $1.1 trillion, as of when SpaceX began trading on June 12.

Before the offering, Forbes estimated Musk's fortune at about $780 billion, already far ahead of other billionaires.

"The second richest person has been hovering around $300 billion, so about less than one-third of what Musk can potentially be worth tomorrow," said Matt Durot, deputy editor at Forbes Wealth. "And only one other person, (Oracle founder) Larry Ellison, has ever been worth $400 billion."

Most of Musk's wealth is tied to SpaceX, where he holds a stake worth roughly $866 billion. The calculation also includes stock components that would vest over time.

Musk first became a household name through Tesla and SpaceX before expanding his influence through the $44 billion acquisition of Twitter in 2022. The purchase gave him a direct platform to communicate with hundreds of millions of users and weigh in on issues ranging from politics and immigration to government spending and free speech.

His growing involvement in politics, including his role in President Donald Trump's Department of Government Efficiency last year, has also generated controversy. The political backlash coincided with weaker Tesla sales in some international markets during 2025 as protests and consumer boycotts targeted the electric vehicle maker.

Born in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk attended the University of Pennsylvania and graduated in 1997. He became Tesla's chief executive in 2008 and helped transform the company into the world's most valuable automaker.

"He renewed the world's respect for American ingenuity in automotive engineering," said Bob Lutz, a former General Motors vice chairman.

Investors are now betting Musk can achieve similar success in space exploration and artificial intelligence. However, SpaceX remains heavily dependent on future technologies that may take years to become commercially viable.

Beyond Tesla and SpaceX, Musk has co-founded several other ventures, including Neuralink and The Boring Company.

The concentration of influence around Musk has sparked debate over corporate governance and the risks of tying a company's valuation so closely to a single individual. His public disputes with regulators, journalists, investors, and politicians have often played out on social media.

Even so, many investors continue to back Musk's vision. "Much like Tesla, SpaceX is a bet on Elon Musk," said Matt Kennedy, senior strategist at Renaissance Capital.

"A market cap of $1.5 trillion-$2 trillion would certainly throw all traditional valuation methodologies out the window, and is instead best characterized as the 'Elon Musk premium.'"

JPMorgan Chase CEO Jamie Dimon, once involved in a legal dispute with Musk, has also become an admirer.

"Elon is the Edison of our time," Dimon said during a recent conversation with Musk.