Elon Musk’s net worth has fallen by an estimated $350 billion in about one week, dropping to around $1.1 trillion on Tuesday, according to a Forbes report.
The trillionaire’s net worth, which stood at $1.4 trillion as of June 16, took a hit as a sharp selloff in SpaceX shares erased nearly $1 trillion from the company’s market capitalisation in three straight sessions of declining trade, according to Forbes estimates.
SpaceX stock plunged 16% on June 22, extending its cumulative decline from its June 16 peak to more than 30%.
The company had reached a market capitalisation of nearly $3 trillion in the days following its IPO, briefly ranking it ahead of Amazon and Microsoft as the world’s fourth most valuable listed company. However, it is now valued at around $2 trillion, placing it seventh globally behind Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co.
What the numbers show
Elon Musk owns approximately 38% of SpaceX, including 4.8 billion shares and stock options, according to Forbes, making the scale of the selloff particularly damaging to his personal fortune.
- According to Forbes estimates, Monday’s drop alone wiped out more than $152 billion from Musk’s net worth.
- SpaceX had surged nearly 67% above its IPO price of $135 per share, briefly touching around $225 per share in the days after listing, as investors rushed to gain exposure to Musk’s portfolio of space, satellite, and AI businesses.
- Since its June 16 peak, SpaceX has shed roughly $928 billion in market value, according to Forbes calculations, in what amounts to one of the fastest destructions of paper wealth in stock market history.
Musk’s net worth, which Forbes estimated had crossed the trillion-dollar mark following the IPO, making him the first person in history to reach that threshold, has now retreated to approximately $1.1 trillion, according to Forbes.
More insights
The selloff has been driven by a combination of factors, including growing investor concern over SpaceX’s lofty post-IPO valuation. Some analysts have raised concerns about the company’s governance structure, citing Elon Musk’s outsized voting control relative to other shareholders.
- Sentiment took a further hit after MSCI reportedly assigned SpaceX a CCC rating, the lowest on its seven-tier sustainability scale, citing the company’s exposure to and management of significant environmental, social, and governance risks, and its lag behind peers on those measures.
- SpaceX also disclosed on Monday that it plans to issue bonds to refinance a short-term loan, choosing to raise debt rather than dilute existing shareholders through a fresh equity sale, a signal that the company’s cash needs remain significant even after raising $75 billion in its IPO.
Broader weakness in the technology sector compounded the pressure on SpaceX, with the Nasdaq 100 on track to erase more than $1 trillion in market value on Tuesday as chipmakers and large-cap technology stocks declined sharply.
What you should know
SpaceX shares extended their post-IPO decline on Monday June 22, falling more than 4% in premarket trading.
The decline added to losses that have eroded much of the gains enjoyed by investors who bought the stock after its market debut, according to CNBC.
The stock was down 4.31% at 6:17 a.m. ET, CNBC reported, following declines of 5% on Wednesday and 3.6% on Thursday ahead of the Juneteenth market holiday.
