SpaceX and Tesla founder Elon Musk has reached the position of the world's first trillionaire. This comes after raising over $2 trillion through the SpaceX IPO sale that launched in the US market on June 12, 2026. With this, Musk's personal net worth has crossed $1.1 trillion dollars.
Several controversies have also surfaced regarding the SpaceX IPO. One allegation is that the shares are assigned an inflated price. There is also criticism that, although the shares were sold in the public market, the IPO is designed in such a way that the true control of the company remains securely in the hands of Musk and his associates.
The Phenomenon Called Musk
"A person who lives as if in a video game..." This is how Elon Musk is described in the biography written by Walter Isaacson.
Growing from a middle-class family into a billionaire through the tech business, Musk is one of the most discussed personalities in the world. Musk was born on June 28, 1971, in Pretoria, South Africa. A childhood immersed in daydreams made Musk a laughingstock among other students at school.
In 1989, Musk became an 18-year-old youth. To escape compulsory military service, he traveled to Canada to study for a degree. In 1992, he reached his dream country, the US. He completed his studies at the University of Pennsylvania there. During his study days in the US, Musk spent only one dollar a day. Oranges were his main food.
Subsequently, Musk joined the famous Stanford University for PhD studies. It was at this same time that the world entered the internet boom. Soon after, Musk abandoned his PhD studies.
In 1995, Elon Musk co-founded Zip2, his first major venture. In 1999, after selling Zip2, he founded X.com, an online banking company. X.com later merged with Confinity and was eventually renamed PayPal. In 2002, eBay acquired PayPal.
Following this, the SpaceX company was founded. In 2008, NASA began relying on SpaceX for its services. Musk now owns several companies, including Tesla, Hyperloop, Neuralink, and The Boring Company.
