Elon Musk’s reign as the world’s first trillionaire was remarkably short-lived. Less than two weeks after making history, a sharp sell-off in SpaceX and Tesla shares pushed his fortune back below the $1tn mark.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk's net worth has fallen to about $957bn, ending a brief stint as the only person in history with a 13-figure fortune.
The decline follows a dramatic retreat in SpaceX's share price after the company's blockbuster stock market debut earlier this month.
Musk became the world's first trillionaire on 12 June when SpaceX floated on the stock market, with investor enthusiasm driving the company's valuation above $2tn and briefly lifting his wealth to around $1.1tn.
However, the euphoria surrounding the listing has faded rapidly.
At its peak, SpaceX was valued at almost $3tn, briefly becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world. Its market capitalisation has since fallen to just over $2tn, wiping away nearly $1tn in value in little more than a week.
That decline alone is almost equivalent to Mr Musk’s entire fortune.
Danni Hewson, head of financial analysis at AJ Bell, said the sell-off reflected the reality that newly listed companies often experience a period of intense volatility after the initial excitement fades.
“SpaceX might have seemed charmed after its record-breaking IPO and subsequent rally, but it’s come down to earth with a bump over the past couple of days, with shares at one point falling below the opening price on its market debut,” she said.
“Post-IPO stocks often enter a period of volatility as the market gets to grips with the new entrant, some investors rush to cash out, and others assess at what price they are willing to jump in.
“For a stock like SpaceX, a lot of decision making might have been emotional and based on the anticipation of huge leaps forward in space exploration and utilisation, but investing should be something treated with clear eyes and patience, even when such huge numbers are involved.”
The pressure on SpaceX came alongside broader weakness across the technology sector. Tesla, another cornerstone of Mr Musk’s wealth, fell 5.8 per cent on Monday as investors sold off artificial intelligence and semiconductor-related stocks.
Because much of Mr Musk’s wealth is concentrated in his corporate holdings rather than cash, fluctuations in the share prices of SpaceX and Tesla can cause enormous swings in his net worth from one day to the next.
Despite slipping below the trillion-dollar threshold, Musk remains comfortably the richest person in the world. Bloomberg's rankings show he still holds a substantial lead over his nearest rivals, including Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin and Amazon founder Jeff Bezos.
The episode serves as a reminder that even at the highest reaches of global wealth, fortunes can rise and fall by sums larger than the annual economic output of many countries.
