Musk’s Fortune Falls Under $800 Billion After Aborted Starship Launch
SpaceX shares dropped to an all-time low following an aborted Starship launch attempt, resulting in a $45 billion decline in Elon Musk's net worth. Despite the setback, Musk remains the world's wealthiest person, and the company plans to attempt another launch shortly.
Why it matters
The volatility of SpaceX stock and Musk's personal wealth highlights the high-stakes nature of private space exploration and its impact on global financial markets.
Topline A setback in Starship’s latest launch attempt lowered SpaceX shares to another all-time low on Friday, extending a losing streak for the stock and lowering Elon Musk’s net worth by more than $45 billion, after Wall Street appeared optimistic about the firm’s launch capabilities.
Another attempt will come “hopefully in a few days,” Musk said. Copyright 2026 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. Key Facts Shares of SpaceX declined 4.4% to around $125 shortly after trading opened on Friday, potentially extending a five-day losing streak for the stock, which cut its value by 14.5% as of Thursday.
Musk, who holds 4.8 billion SpaceX shares and another 350 million stock options, saw his net worth drop by $45.3 billion to $792.8 billion, though he remains the world’s richest person ahead of Google co-founders Larry Page ($282 billion) and Sergey Brin ($260.1 billion).
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