Elon Musk set to become world’s first trillionaire

Billionaire Elon Musk will become wealthier than 46% of the world's population—around 3.8 billion people—following the initial public offering (IPO) of his aerospace and artificial intelligence company SpaceX, according to an analysis published Thursday by Oxfam.

Musk's personal fortune, which also includes ownership of the social media platform X, is expected to surpass $1 trillion after SpaceX goes public, making him the first person in history to reach such a level of wealth, CE Report quotes AGERPRES.

"Such an extreme concentration of wealth is symptomatic of decades of policies favoring billionaires, allowing them to shape economic rules to their advantage," Oxfam said in a statement.

Nabil Ahmed, Director of Economic Justice at Oxfam America, stated that Musk's rise to trillionaire status "marks a turning point for oligarchy and a dark day for democracy."

"Musk will be a government-supported trillionaire whose wealth has been fueled by an era of regressive public policies," Ahmed argued. He added that $1 trillion "in the hands of a single individual" is incompatible with the idea of "an accessible economy and a healthy democracy," because "economic inequality generates political inequality."

In its report, Oxfam estimated that a 10% tax on Musk's projected $1 trillion fortune could eradicate extreme poverty worldwide for one year, lifting more than 800 million people out of poverty. The NGO also noted that if Musk spent $1 million every day, it would take him 2,740 years to spend $1 trillion. Even if he gave $100 to every person on Earth, he would still remain among the world's ten richest billionaires.

Oxfam further argued that much of Musk's wealth is based not only on past government support but also on actions taken during his time in the administration of U.S. President Donald Trump, claiming he may have used his position to protect and increase his fortune. According to the organization, SpaceX receives about one-fifth of its revenue from the federal government, and its public listing is expected to generate substantial gains for Republican administration officials, investment funds, politically connected individuals, and corporate executives.

SpaceX is scheduled to launch what is expected to be the largest IPO in history on Friday, surpassing the record set by Saudi Aramco in 2019. Following the offering, its market capitalization is projected to reach approximately $1.77 trillion, placing it among the ten largest publicly traded companies in the world.

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