Elon Musk is no longer the world’s first trillionaire after a sharp decline in SpaceX’s share price significantly reduced the value of his fortune.
The Tesla and SpaceX chief had crossed the historic trillion dollar mark following the company’s successful stock market debut. His wealth soared from about $707 billion to more than $1.1 trillion within days of SpaceX’s initial public offering, making him the first person ever to reach the milestone.
That achievement has now been reversed. Fresh data from the Bloomberg Billionaires Index shows Musk’s estimated net worth dropped to $946 billion on Thursday, falling below the trillion dollar mark after weeks of declining SpaceX shares.
The slide in the company’s stock has erased hundreds of billions of dollars from Musk’s wealth in less than two weeks. Zoyols News also reports that his fortune declined from about $1.45 trillion to just under $1.1 trillion after SpaceX shares lost nearly 30 percent of their value from the peak reached on June 16.
SpaceX enjoyed a remarkable start on the stock market, with its shares climbing as much as 67 percent during the first three days of trading. The impressive rally pushed the company’s valuation beyond $1.8 trillion before it later reached a peak of about $2.9 trillion.
Since then, however, the stock has remained under pressure. Three consecutive trading sessions of losses have wiped out roughly $928 billion in market value, leaving the company valued at around $2 trillion.
A large portion of Musk’s fortune is linked to his 38 percent ownership stake in SpaceX. He also owns about 11 percent of Tesla and has investments in several other businesses.
The decline became even steeper on Monday after SpaceX announced plans to launch its first investment grade bond offering. The company hopes to raise at least $20 billion through the offering to support its expanding artificial intelligence projects.
Reports show that SpaceX shares were trading at about $155 on Thursday. Although the price is well below the post IPO high of $225.64, it remains higher than the company’s listing price of $135.
