Elon Musk has become the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX’s stock market debut in London sent his personal wealth into uncharted territory. Shares in the private rocket firm soared more than 60 per cent on their first day of trading today, valuing the company at over £1.2 trillion. The surge has pushed Mr. Musk’s total net worth, including his stakes in Tesla and other ventures, past the trillion-dollar mark for the first time.
For the 53-year-old South African-born entrepreneur, it is a moment that cements his place as the dominant figure in the new space economy. But for the millions of workers across the North of England who have seen their own wages stagnate, the announcement will feel like a dispatch from an entirely different galaxy. The contrast is stark. While Musk’s wealth has multiplied many times over in the past decade, average real wages in cities like Middlesbrough, Burnley, and Hull have barely moved since the financial crisis.
SpaceX’s London listing was a coup for the London Stock Exchange, which has been working hard to attract fast-growing technology companies. The company, which specialises in reusable rockets and the Starlink satellite internet network, has grown rapidly thanks to government contracts and private investment. Its valuation reflects the belief that satellite-based broadband will soon become a utility for millions of people worldwide, much like electricity or water.
But the gap between the fortunes of the super-rich and the rest of the country has long been a source of anger and alienation. In the Northern towns that voted for Brexit in 2016 and later turned to the Conservatives, the soaring wealth of people like Musk feels like a slap in the face. Many residents there rely on food banks, insecure work, and just about manage to keep their heads above water. The average weekly wage in the North East is £581, nearly 20 per cent lower than the London average of £718.
Unions have been quick to respond. Frances O’Grady, general secretary of the TUC, said: “While one man becomes a trillionaire, millions of working people are struggling to heat their homes and feed their families. This is the clearest possible example of a broken system. The government must tackle inequality by introducing a maximum pay ratio and ending the race to the bottom on workers’ rights.”
The timing of the announcement is particularly galling for workers at Amazon and other firms where union recognition battles are rife. In the same month that Amazon workers in Coventry secured the first union recognition deal at a UK warehouse, Musk’s personal fortune has eclipsed the GDP of entire countries such as Saudi Arabia and Sweden.
There will be those who argue that Musk’s achievement is a testament to the power of innovation and capitalism. That his companies have created thousands of high-skilled jobs, including in places like the North West where Tesla recently opened a new factory. But that argument only goes so far. The benefits of that growth have not trickled down. The richest 1 per cent of Britons now own more than the poorest 50 per cent combined.
And it is not just about wealth. It is about power. Musk, who owns Twitter, has a global platform that allows him to influence public opinion and shape government policy. That level of clout makes a mockery of democracy. In the North, where communities have been sold on the promise that a free market will deliver for them, the reality is that the pie keeps growing but the slices for ordinary people keep shrinking.
As SpaceX’s rockets head towards the stars, there is an urgent question for the politicians and policymakers on Earth: how much more of this can we take before the sky falls in?
