Who is the World's First Trillionaire?

Becoming a trillionaire has been one of the highest levels of personal wealth. But recently, in June 2026, according to Forbes, this historical achievement was made by Elon Musk, the owner of Tesla and SpaceX. 

But do you know how Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire and what role the SpaceX IPO played? Then, let’s explore this article in detail.

World's First Trillionaire

Elon Musk is now the world's first trillionaire. But when a number gets that large, it can be hard to grasp what it really means.

Forbes broke down the scale of $1 trillion through the lens of everyday family expenses to show just how far a trillion dollars can stretch.

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— Forbes (@Forbes) June 12, 2026

Elon Musk, who is the owner of Tesla and SpaceX, has become the world's first trillionaire. This happened on June 12, 2026, when his company SpaceX started trading on the Nasdaq stock exchange under the ticker symbol SPCX. 

According to Forbes, Elon Musk's net worth crossed the 1 trillion dollar mark and reached around 1.1 trillion dollars. This is a historic moment because no person in the history of the world has ever had this much personal wealth before.

How Did Elon Musk Become a Trillionaire?

The main reason behind this huge jump in wealth is the SpaceX IPO. An IPO means a company sells its shares to the public for the first time on a stock market.

Here is what happened in simple steps:

1. On June 11, 2026, SpaceX shares were priced at 135 dollars each for the IPO.

2. This IPO raised about 75 billion dollars, making it the biggest IPO in stock market history.

3. On June 12, 2026, SpaceX shares started trading on Nasdaq and opened at 150 dollars per share.

4. Elon Musk owns about 42 to 43 percent of SpaceX, which is around 4.8 billion shares.

5. At the new share price, his SpaceX stake alone became worth more than 800 billion dollars.

6. When his Tesla shares (worth about 300 billion dollars) are added, his total net worth crossed 1.1 trillion dollars.

This made Elon Musk the richest person to ever exist, by a very large margin.

What role does the SpaceX IPO play in Elon Musk becoming a trillionaire?

The main reason behind Elon Musk becoming the world's first trillionaire was the highly successful SpaceX IPO (Initial Public Offering).

Before the IPO, SpaceX was already known as one of the world's most valuable private companies, and Elon Musk owned a large stake in it. 

When SpaceX listed on the Nasdaq on June 12, 2026, investors showed strong interest in the company, and this resulted in pushing its market value significantly higher than the previous value. As a result, the value of Musk's SpaceX shares increased dramatically.

Since Elon Musk owns around 42–43% of SpaceX shares, when the shares of the company rise, it increases hundreds of billions of dollars in his personal wealth.

After combining his Tesla holdings with his current net worth of SpaceX, the total marks 1.1 trillion dollars.

Elon Musk's Wealth: Before and After SpaceX IPO

Top 10 Richest People in the World (Forbes 2026 Data)

Source: Forbes

Interesting Facts 

• Elon Musk has been the richest person in the world since May 2024, and his current net worth is 1.1 trillion dollars

• Larry Page is now worth about $309 billion 

• Steve Ballmer rejoins the top ten after jumping from No. 15 in May to No. 10 as of June 1.

• Bill Gates dropped out of the top 10 richest in October 2024 after Forbes obtained new information that led to a significant contraction in his fortune.

• 9 of the 10 richest people in the world are Americans. The one non-U.S. citizen: France’s Bernard Arnault.

• All of the top ten richest people as of June 1 are men. Each of them is worth $141 billion or more, down from $147 billion last month.