World’s first trillionaire was born in Africa, but built his fortune abroad

Elon Musk entered the history books on Friday as the world’s first trillionaire, a development that places Africa at the center of one of the most significant wealth-creation stories of the modern era, even though the fortune itself was largely built outside the continent.

The South Africa-born entrepreneur crossed the $1 trillion net worth threshold after the Nasdaq debut of SpaceX, the rocket and satellite company he founded in 2002.

SpaceX shares opened at $150, above their IPO price of $135, pushing the company’s valuation close to $2 trillion and adding hundreds of billions of dollars to Musk’s personal fortune.

According to Forbes estimates, Musk’s net worth rose to $1.1 trillion, making him the first person in history to become a trillionaire.

Musk’s $1.1 trillion fortune places him in a category of his own. His wealth is nearly four times that of Google co-founder Larry Page, worth $294.1 billion, and more than four times the $271.3 billion fortune of fellow Google co-founder Sergey Brin, both of whom remain among the world’s wealthiest centibillionaires.

World’s first trillionaire crosses historic threshold

The achievement crowns more than two decades of wealth creation driven by Musk’s stakes in SpaceX, electric vehicle giant Tesla, artificial intelligence firm xAI, Neuralink and other ventures. SpaceX alone now accounts for the bulk of his fortune, with Musk controlling an estimated 38 percent stake in the company.

The company’s stock market debut marks a defining moment not only for Musk but also for global capital markets. With shares trading well above their IPO price, SpaceX’s valuation climbed beyond that of Saudi oil giant Aramco, long regarded as one of the world’s most valuable listed companies. In December 2019, the company raised $25.6 billion.

The milestone underscores a shift in global wealth creation, with investors placing trillion-dollar bets on space technology, satellite communications and artificial intelligence rather than traditional energy assets.

Read also: SpaceX shares surge above $160 on record-breaking IPO

Forbes noted that Musk’s rise has shattered a wealth barrier that until recently seemed unimaginable. “The idea of anyone becoming a trillionaire seemed unfathomable even just a couple years ago,” the global media company said in a publication on Friday, highlighting the extraordinary speed at which technology-driven fortunes have expanded.

The journey to a trillion-dollar fortune has taken decades. Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates became the first person to reach a net worth of $100 billion in 1999, but the achievement proved short-lived as the dotcom bubble burst. It was not until 2017 that Amazon founder Jeff Bezos became only the second person to cross the $100 billion threshold, ushering in the modern era of mega-billionaires.

Even among the world’s richest individuals, Musk now stands in a category of his own. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, who was also the first person to surpass $200 billion in 2020, is currently worth an estimated $249 billion.

Oracle founder Larry Ellison, worth  $231.5 billion, remains the only person besides Musk to have ever crossed the $400 billion mark.

SpaceX’s valuation has soared nearly twentyfold since 2021, transforming the rocket maker from one of the world’s most valuable private companies into a public market giant.

Despite reporting losses in recent years, investors have backed the company’s long-term growth prospects through its Starlink satellite internet business, reusable rocket technology and ambitious plans to expand humanity’s presence in space.

Musk’s wealth journey began long before SpaceX. Following the sale of PayPal to eBay in 2002, he used the proceeds to build SpaceX and expand his involvement in Tesla, which later became the world’s most valuable automaker. His portfolio has since expanded to include artificial intelligence, satellite internet, brain-computer interface technology and infrastructure ventures.

The trillion-dollar milestone highlights the growing concentration of wealth around technology, artificial intelligence, space exploration and digital infrastructure. It also marks a new chapter in the history of global wealth creation, one that would have seemed almost impossible only a generation ago.

Africa’s connection to a fortune built abroad

For Africa, Musk’s rise is likely to add a new dimension to discussions about the continent’s role in the global innovation economy.

Born in Pretoria, South Africa, Musk spent his early years on the continent before relocating to Canada in 1989 and later the United States, where he built the companies that would eventually make him the world’s wealthiest individual.

His achievement may renewed discussion about Africa’s role in producing globally recognised entrepreneurs and innovators, as well as the factors that influence where high-growth companies are built and scaled.

Despite being home to more than 1.5 billion people and some of the world’s fastest-growing digital markets, Africa has yet to produce a company valued at $100 billion. Analysts often cite factors such as access to long-term capital, market fragmentation, infrastructure gaps and the depth of public markets when assessing the continent’s ability to scale companies to global size.

This comes as a growing number of African-born founders, engineers and executives occupy leadership and technical roles at some of the world’s largest companies.

Although Musk was born in Africa’s biggest economy, the companies that underpin his fortune were established and expanded primarily in North America, where they benefited from access to large pools of capital, research institutions and deep financial markets.

The milestone adds a new dimension to discussions about Africa’s place in the global innovation economy. While the continent has produced internationally recognised entrepreneurs and business leaders, no Africa-founded company has yet reached a trillion-dollar valuation.

The development is likely to fuel debate among policymakers, investors and entrepreneurs about the conditions required to build and scale globally competitive companies from Africa.

As the world’s first trillionaire, Musk’s achievement gives the continent a connection to a historic milestone in global wealth creation. It also draws attention to ongoing discussions about how African economies can support the growth of companies capable of competing on a global scale.