On June 12, SpaceX began trading on the public markets, and for the first time in human history a person was worth more than a trillion dollars. Elon Musk held the title for eleven days.
By June 23 the Bloomberg Billionaires Index put his fortune at $957 billion — under the line. The fall erased $363 billion from his peak of $1.32 trillion, most of it gone in a broad market selloff that drove SpaceX stock to roughly $154, a 31 percent drop from its high. Tesla slid with it.
The trillion was never cash. It was a number the market hung on two companies — one that had just opened its books to public shareholders for the first time, one that has been a referendum on Musk’s politics for two years. SpaceX rang the bell on June 12 at a valuation that briefly made Musk the richest human who has ever lived. Eleven trading days reminded everyone what “public” means: the number moves, and other people decide which way.
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