James Murdoch appears poised to reap a fortune from his investments in SpaceX that could far exceed what he gained from his father’s media empire.
James, the estranged 53-year-old son of Rupert Murdoch, invested an estimated $120 million in Elon Musk’s rocket company before it went public this year in the biggest IPO in history. James’ holding could now be worth as much as $7.5 billion, according to calculations by Pitchbook’s Franco Granda, senior research analyst for private company coverage. The valuation has not previously been publicly disclosed.
His success could come as a rebuke to his father, who during an internal family fight once instructed a lawyer to suggest that his youngest son could never have succeeded without him.
Fortune reached out to Blair Effron, a partner at Centerview Partners, which has advised the Murdoch family on investment decisions. He said, “As a friend of James, I’ll pass on speaking.” A representative for James Murdoch had no comment at press time.
