Elon Musk was no longer a trillionaire by the time markets closed on Wednesday. Plunging shares in Tesla and SpaceX dragged the tech magnate down to billionaire status. As of 4pm ET, Forbes listed Musk’s net worth as $970.2bn.
Musk reached trillionaire status on 12 June after SpaceX’s historic initial public offering. The rocket, satellite and AI company’s debut on the stock market made Musk the first person with a net worth of more than $1tn. His fortune continued to hover around that gigantic figure in the weeks following the initial public offering (IPO).
A global stock selloff this week led to sharp declines for major tech stocks and dealt a blow to Musk’s wealth, however, as investor concerns that the Federal Reserve will potentially raise interest rates and looming fears of an AI bubble rattled the market.
Companies whose values were heavily linked to the AI boom, including Google’s parent, Alphabet, and chipmakers such as Samsung, were hit especially hard.
The SpaceX IPO, the largest in history, immediately vaulted Musk’s wealth while also tying it to the company’s stock price. SpaceX raised $75bn from its record-breaking IPO and its stocks increased by 19%, from its initial price of $135 per share, within 24 hours of going public. On Wednesday, SpaceX’s stocks were listed at $154.35.
Most of Musk’s wealth is tied up in stock and equity, and is not cash he can quickly spend. Still, his fortune is unprecedented, not just for its size but the speed at which it grew.
Market fluctuations mean it is possible that Musk could regain his trillionaire status in the near future if either Tesla or SpaceX shares rebound.
Although no longer a trillionaire, Musk is easily still the world’s richest person. The next wealthiest billionaire is the Google co-founder Larry Page, whose net worth is about $284bn, according to Forbes.
Musk made more money than Page’s entire fortune this year alone, increasing his net worth by $338bn since January.
