On Friday, June 12, Musk’s company SpaceX went public at a valuation of approximately $1.77 trillion pushing Musk’s approximately $813 billion net worth over the trillion-dollar line, according to CBS News.

To Kenyan readers, $1.77 trillion converts to Ksh2,283,300,000,000,000,000 in local currency. The Kenya shilling is one of the strongest currencies in Africa behind South Africa’s rand, Botswana’s pula and Zambia’s kwacha, among a few others.

Musk’s new title comes after the company’s IPO was expected to set share prices at $135 each, according to tallies by Forbes and the Associated Press.

SpaceX shared in a post on X that was re-shared by Musk: “Teams are go for launch with a $135 price per share for the SpaceX IPO,” along with a link showing how people would be able to buy the public stocks.

This marks another significant milestone for Musk, 54, whose wealth is heavily tied to the success of SpaceX. According to Forbes, Musk owns approximately 4.8 million shares of SpaceX common stock, along with 350 million stock options. Those holdings are worth an estimated $688 billion.

When combined with his stakes in Tesla and other ventures, the jump in SpaceX’s valuation pushed Musk’s net worth past the $1 trillion mark.

But Musk isn’t the only one to benefit from the company going public.

“At the time, there was very much the sentiment that SpaceX was an unproven start-up that wouldn’t last very long,” Hise told the outlet about his parents’ reservations surrounding his post-college plan.

Hise eventually accumulated more than 100,000 shares during his 12 years at the company, making his stake worth at least $13.5 million, the paper reported.

Even after the company went public, Musk continues to retain primary control of SpaceX. He is suspected to hold approximately 82.4 per cent of the company’s voting power through Class B shares with enhanced voting rights as CEO, chief technical officer and chairman, the AP previously reported.

SpaceX’s acquisition of Musk’s AI Company, xAI, earlier this year has made it one of several major artificial intelligence companies expected to go public, NPR reported.

OpenAI, the maker of ChatGPT and Anthropic, which created the Claude AI models, have also filed paperwork with the Securities and Exchange Commission as they prepare for potential IPOs, according to the outlet.

All three companies are expected to be among the biggest public offerings in 2026.

• A Tell Media report