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Elon Musk became the world’s first-ever trillionaire Friday as shares of his rocket company SpaceX blasted off on the stock market.

The price of the firm’s shares soared, opening at $150, on its first day of public trading — bringing the visionary-but-volatile tech titan’s net worth to nearly $1.1 trillion.

Musk’s mind-blowing 13-digit financial status means he now has more money than the gross domestic product of 197 countries — 


  The stock opened at $150 per share Friday. John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock The stock opened at $150 per share Friday. John Angelillo/UPI/Shutterstock

and could buy every single NFL, MLB, NHL and NBA team and all 10 of the world’s most valuable soccer teams and still have a cool $392 billion left over.

The 54-year-old entrepreneur and dad of 14 marked the occasion with a ceremonial stock market bell ringing at SpaceX’s southern Texas home, known as Starbase.

“That’s what SpaceX is all about — it’s to take the fiction out of science fiction and create an exciting, inspiring future for everyone,” he said.

To the general public, he added, “SpaceX wants to be able to take you to the moon, take you to Mars and ultimately beyond.”

Musk grew up in an upper-middle class family in South Africa and got rich, beginning in the 1990s, by building and investing in high-growth companies such as the online payment service PayPal.

The brash businessman’s first big break was the sale of Zip2, a software startup he co-founded in 1995, which was bought by the computer manufacturer Compaq for $307 million.

Musk reportedly made $22 million when he sold the company in 1999.

He then used $10 million of those earnings to launch an online financial services company, known as X.com, which later became PayPal.


  Elon Musk is now the world’s first trillionaire.
 Elon Musk is now the world’s first trillionaire.

Musk was PayPal’s largest shareholder during its sale to eBay in 2002, reportedly netting him roughly $165 million after taxes.

The same year, he founded SpaceX using $100 million of his PayPal fortune.

He then invested $6.35 million in the electric car company Tesla in 2004 and has since raked in tens of billions of dollars in stock from the company.

Musk became the world’s richest person in January 2021 — snatching the title from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos — when a rise in his Tesla share prices shot his net worth up to more than $185 billion.

Since then, Musk’s fortune has increased more than five-fold in a nearly six-year period, during which he bought the social media company Twitter, founded an AI startup, and took SpaceX public.


  SpaceX’s market cap is now more than 2 trillion. AFP via Getty Images SpaceX’s market cap is now more than 2 trillion. AFP via Getty Images

Twitter, which he bought in 2022 and renamed X, has reportedly not made him a profit.

Musk’s net worth now includes Tesla, along with stakes in ventures such as the brain implant firm Neuralink, tunneling firm the Boring Company.

On Friday, SpaceX shares opened up 11% from their initial public offering price of $135, and quickly shot up to $160 — raising the company’s market cap to $2.1 trillion and making it the sixth most valuable company in the world.

After the initial public offering, Musk will control about 82% of SpaceX, according to filings.

Musk’s trillionaire status now means he is five million times richer than the average American family.

By contrast, if he were feeling generous, he could give all 8.3 billion people on Earth $120.

Google co-founder Larry Page is, meanwhile, the world’s second wealthiest person with a net worth of $257 billion, Forbes’ 2026 billionaires list.

His co-founder Sergey Brin, is the third richest with a net worth of $237 billion, according to the outlet.

Coming in at fourth is Amazon founder Jeff Bezos with a $224 billion net worth, followed by Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg with $222 billion.

By mid-afternoon Friday, shares of SpaceX – which operates rocket, satellite internet and artificial-intelligence businesses – had reached nearly $173, placing the company’s valuation at a staggering $2.3 trillion.

— Additional reporting by Chris Nesi

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