SpaceX’s initial public offering made Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire, with Musk at $1.11 trillion, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. The world’s top 10 wealthiest individuals all have fortunes of around $150 billion or more, and it takes at least $80 billion to get into the top 25. Mega-billionaires have resources that approach or exceed those of many nation-states, and the sheer number of people with effectively limitless resources and how easily they can convert their wealth into power is new. Via SpaceX, Musk controls one of America’s most important defense contractors, and the Space Force keeps assigning launches to SpaceX that its only competitor cannot do. In 2022, Musk personally declined to extend Starlink coverage over Crimea, stalling a planned Ukrainian strike on the Russian fleet. In 2024, six Americans each spent more than $100 million on the presidential election; Musk gave about $291 million, the most of anyone, to help boost Republicans, and Timothy Mellon, heir to the Gilded Age Mellon fortune, gave more than $190 million.