Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire – at least on paper – after launching SpaceX as a publicly traded company.

The rocket and AI firm’s initial public offering (IPO) was listed on the Nasdaq stock exchange with a valuation of $1.77tn – although some analysts have warned it is dangerously overvalued.

SpaceX was founded in 2002 as a rocket manufacturer but Musk has since folded in several of his other businesses, including satellite and internet provider Starlink, social media platform X and his artificial intelligence company xAI.

While the company generated revenues of $18.7bn, the firm posted a net loss of nearly £4.28bn last year on the back of heavy capital spending on its AI infrastructure.

Musk already held the title of world’s richest man, with his net worth before the IPO estimated at $696bn, according to the Bloomberg Billionaire Index.

The SpaceX founder and CEO is the company’s biggest shareholder with around 40% of its equity capital and approximately 80% of the voting rights.

At the IPO price of $135 per share, his combined shares and options are valued at roughly $866bn – meaning he was likely to pass the $1tn mark even if the share price fell after opening.

Having a trillion dollars is the equivalent of receiving $56,345 per hour since the birth of Christ.

A new Oxfam analysis reveals Musk is now richer than the poorest 46% of the world population, or 3.8 billion people, combined.

“Musk’s wealth grew by over $550bn over the past year, equivalent to an average rate of over $1m per minute,” the charity said.

Nabil Ahmed, senior director of economic justice at Oxfam America, said: “A trillion dollars in the hands of one man is incompatible not only with an affordable economy, but also with a healthy democracy.

“Economic inequality begets political inequality, and ordinary people bear the brunt while billionaires continue to write the rules for their own benefit.”

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