Elon Musk, now the world’s first trillionaire, is famous for demanding absolute loyalty. SpaceX’s market debut proves that he also pays it back in dividends, minting a new class of billionaires out of the allies who have stood by him for decades through good times and bad.
SpaceX started trading on Friday, instantly turning years of private-market gains into public-market wealth for SpaceX employees, executives, early backers, and venture firms that bought into Musk’s vision long before reusable rockets and satellite internet made the company one of the most valuable businesses in the world.
Here are the biggest winners in SpaceX’s IPO, based on data from the company’s S-1 on the company’s top shareholders and the company’s opening share price of $150 per share.
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Elon Musk: $750 billion
There is no bigger winner than Musk himself, and it’s not even close.
SpaceX’s IPO filing showed Musk owned about 849 million Class A shares and 5.57 billion Class B shares before the offering. At the opening price, that stake was worth around $750 billion.
Combined with Musk’s stake in Tesla, valued at around $280 billion, he is now the world’s first trillionaire.
Valor Equity Partners: $75 billion
After Elon Musk, Antonio Gracias, one of Musk’s inner circle and an early SpaceX investor, is the second biggest winner in today’s IPO.
Gracias owns more than 500 million shares of SpaceX stock through investment firms affiliated with Valor Equity Partners, the private equity firm he founded, which represent roughly 7.3% of SpaceX’s Class A stock.
At today’s open, that stake was worth upwards of $75 billion.
“It’s a tremendous milestone, and I’m feeling a lot of gratitude,” Gracias told CNBC shortly before shares started trading. “I think it’s one of the most consequential companies in the human industry.”
That gain is one of the largest fortunes ever created by a venture investor, though it is unclear how much Gracias personally invested.
After the company’s S-1 filing was released, Gracias posted on X: “While I’m a large partner in the funds, the majority of the gains go to our LPs. We’re deeply grateful for their belief in us and SpaceX beginning with our first investment in 2006.”
Gracias said Friday he will try to hold his stake “as long as possible.”
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Google: $12 billion
In 2015, Google invested around $900 million in SpaceX for a stake of around 7.64%, which was then valued at $12 billion.
That position was worth $132 billion in SpaceX’s first hour of trading, making it one of the best venture investments of all time.
As big a win as SpaceX is for Google, it could see an even bigger payday later this year. Google owns around 14% of Anthropic, which is planning a blockbuster IPO of its own.
Luke Nosek: $5 billion
Luke Nosek, a PayPal veteran and longtime Musk backer, owns nearly 33 million Class A shares directly and through his family office, Nosek Capital.
At the opening price, that stake was worth around $5 billion.
In 2008, while still at Founders Fund, Nosek led the first institutional venture investment into SpaceX and joined its board of directors. He later doubled down at his next firm, Gigafund.
Gwynne Shotwell: $1.9 billion
SpaceX president and chief operating officer Gwynne Shotwell joined in 2002 and has been the rock by Musk’s side as he has been busy with other pursuits, from Tesla to DOGE to X.
Shotwell’s steadfast commitment is now paying off handsomely, as her stake was worth almost $2 billion at the offering price.
That makes Shotwell one of America’s richest self-made women, just behind Sheryl Sandberg ($2.4 billion) and Taylor Swift ($2 billion).
Bret Johnsen: $1.4 billion
Bret Johnsen joined as chief financial officer in 2011 and has had the herculean job of raising billions in private funding to fund some of the most ambitious and expensive human endeavors of the 21st century. More recently, he successfully navigated public markets to finally take the company public.
Johnson’s stake was worth about $1.4 billion at the opening price.
Ira Ehrenpreis: $205 million
Ira Ehrenpreis, a venture capitalist and former Tesla board member, built his firm, DBL Partners, based on the belief that companies can deliver top financial returns while also driving positive social and environmental change.
His stake was worth around $205 million when Tesla made its market debut.
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Founders Fund and other firms: Unknown
Many prominent VCs and asset managers also backed SpaceX over the years, but do not appear in the S-1.
The most notable is Founders Fund, Peter Thiel’s venture firm, which first invested in 2008, according to Pitchbook data. The firm doubled down on its investment in 2010, 2021, and 2025.
Other venture investors include Sequoia Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, Coatue Management, Draper Associates, and Craft Ventures.
Asset managers Fidelity and T Rowe Price also backed SpaceX in later rounds.
