Elon Musk’s Fortune Plunges Over $600 Billion Despite SpaceX Starship Success

SpaceX achieved a major milestone last Friday by successfully launching its Starship rocket into orbit from the company’s Starbase facility in South Texas. However, the achievement did little to prevent a sharp decline in Elon Musk’s personal wealth.

According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk’s fortune has fallen below the level recorded before SpaceX’s initial public offering was priced last month. The decline comes after Musk briefly became the world’s first trillionaire.

Musk’s net worth reached a peak of approximately $1.33 trillion on June 16 but has since dropped to around $684 billion.

The decline of more than $600 billion in just over a month represents one of the largest wealth losses ever recorded among individuals listed on Bloomberg’s ranking of the world’s 500 richest people.

SpaceX shares, officially held under Space Exploration Technologies Corp., reached a closing high of $201.80 on June 16. Since then, the stock has declined 46% to a record low of $108.37.

The company could face further pressure as around 911.5 million shares held by insiders and early investors are expected to become available next month. Increased selling from these shareholders could weigh further on the stock price.

Short interest in SpaceX has also increased significantly. Data from S3 Partners showed that short positions rose to 219.3 million shares as of July 29, compared with 23.3 million shares on June 16. The figure represents more than one-third of the shares available for public trading.

SpaceX is scheduled to announce its quarterly earnings next week, marking its first financial report since becoming a public company.