How Elon Musk Made a Trillion Dollars
6/16/202620 min
The initial public offering for SpaceX crowned Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire. WSJ’s Theo Francis takes us inside the staggering finances of the world’s richest man, and explores what the impact of his new status might be. Jessica Mendoza hosts.
Further Listening:
- Is SpaceX Worth the Hype?
- The Great IPO Frenzy of 2026
- Musk vs. Altman
Sign up for WSJ’s free What’s News newsletter.
Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices<
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsJessica Mendoza· Host0:00
[upbeat music] When SpaceX went public on Friday, it kicked off the first day of trading for what might have been the most highly anticipated initial public offering in history. It was certainly the most expensive one. SpaceX shares opened at a record $150 apiece. In Texas, CEO Elon Musk stood in front of a video of rockets launching and addressed investors.
Elon Musk· Soundbite0:34
And let me tell you, if, uh, people had told me this was the, gonna happen- [laughs] ... I was like, "Man, you must be smoking some really good crack."
Jessica Mendoza· Host0:41
[laughs] But the IPO itself wasn't the only history made last week. SpaceX going public also made Musk the world's first trillionaire.
Speaker 4· Soundbite0:53
His stake in SpaceX now worth $820 billion. You add in that Tesla stake worth, worth about 280 billion, and his total net worth as we have it right now is over $1.1 trillion.
Theo Francis· Guest1:08
It's remarkable. It's clearly a watershed moment.
Jessica Mendoza· Host1:12
Our colleague, Theo Francis, covers executive pay. Why is this an important moment?
Theo Francis· Guest1:23
It's pretty striking. You know, I do our annual ranking of executive pay, of CEO pay, and