Elon Musk has lost his short-lived status as the world’s first trillionaire after a sharp pullback in SpaceX shares cut billions from his paper fortune, according to billionaire wealth trackers and market reports.
Musk, who briefly crossed the trillion-dollar threshold after SpaceX’s stock market debut earlier this month, fell back below that level after shares in the rocket and satellite company retreated from their post-listing highs. Business Insider, citing Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, reported that Musk was worth about $957 billion after Tuesday’s sell-off, still leaving him as the world’s richest person.
The drop was driven largely by SpaceX, now Musk’s most valuable asset. The company’s shares closed around $156 on Tuesday, down more than 30% from an intraday peak of $225 on June 16, according to Business Insider. SpaceX began trading on June 12 at $150 a share after a highly watched public listing that valued the company at more than $2 trillion.
The decline has continued to weigh on investor attention around the company. Barron’s reported Monday that SpaceX stock had fallen 24% from its June 16 closing high, despite joining the Russell 1000 index and preparing for inclusion in the Nasdaq-100 on July 7. Market data showed SpaceX shares recently trading at $153.23.
Tesla has also played a role in the movement of Musk’s fortune. Musk remains closely tied to the electric vehicle maker through his ownership stake, and Tesla shares recently traded at $379.71, giving the company a market value of about $1.34 trillion.
The recent reversal does not remove Musk from the top of global wealth rankings. Bloomberg’s index still placed him far ahead of other billionaires, including Google co-founder Larry Page, who was listed as the next-richest person in Business Insider’s report.
SpaceX remains one of the world’s most valuable public companies following its market debut, but its early trading has shown how quickly paper wealth can rise and fall when a founder’s net worth is concentrated in fast-moving shares.
