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SpaceX IPO at a $1.8 trillion valuation could mint billionaires and thousands of millionaires

SpaceX IPO at a $1.8 trillion valuation could mint billionaires and thousands of millionaires

Gwynne Shotwell said at Nasdaq that more than half of SpaceX’s roughly 22,000 employees increased stock holdings by nearly $1 billion, adding to reports a listing could spread wealth broadly across staff.

Fact Check
The Forbes article confirms the $1.8 trillion valuation and identifies roughly nine high-value individual winners, matching the 'nine billionaires' framing (the odaily newsflash explicitly attributes the nine-billionaire estimate to Forbes). Bloomberg's 'The SpaceX Cafeteria Is About to Be Full of Millionaires' confirms the wealth-spreading-to-employees-including-cafeteria-workers claim, with corroborating coverage citing ~4,000 new millionaires via stock options. The only minor caveat is that Forbes itself labels only some of the nine as strictly 'billionaires' (others are near-billion or based on combined stakes/valuations), but the overall claim that the IPO could mint billionaires and thousands of millionaires is well-supported by primary reporting.
Summary

A SpaceX listing at a reported $1.8 trillion valuation could create nine billionaires and thousands of new millionaires, according to Forbes and Bloomberg, while President Gwynne Shotwell said at Nasdaq on June 12 that more than half of the company’s roughly 22,000 employees increased their stock holdings by nearly $1 billion. Forbes estimated Prince Alwaleed bin Talal Al Saud’s 0.28% stake at about $5.1 billion, Jack Dorsey’s 0.14% stake at about $2.6 billion, and Shotwell’s 0.10% holding, including options, at about $1.7 billion. Bloomberg reported the wealth effect could extend to employees across the company, including cafeteria workers, through stock grants, options and other equity holdings, while Shotwell linked employee ownership to milestones including rocket reusability, crewed orbit and Starship development.

Terms & Concepts
  • IPO: initial public offering of shares
  • stock grants: company shares awarded to employees
  • Starship: SpaceX’s next-generation spacecraft program