The SpaceX IPO is poised to create immense wealth, with Elon Musk on track to become the world's first trillionaire. However, his close allies are also positioned for significant financial gains. Among them is Antonio Gracias, a steadfast Musk supporter who is set to become a billionaire.
Gracias, the 55-year-old founder of Valor Equity Partners, has backed Musk's ventures for over two decades. Following the highly anticipated IPO, his stake is valued at $68 billion, approximately Rs 6,468.16 crore.
While Gracias is widely recognized as a Musk loyalist, his Indian heritage often goes unnoticed. His father immigrated to the United States from Goa and became a practicing neurosurgeon in Detroit. His mother, a Spanish pharmacist, ran a pharmacy. Gracias was raised in the U.S. and studied international economics at Georgetown University in the early 1990s. He then worked at Goldman Sachs for two years before attending the University of Chicago Law School. In 1995, while still a law student, he founded MG Capital, a firm that acquired and managed distressed manufacturing companies. He also studied at Waseda University in Japan and worked at Nikko Securities in Tokyo. Over time, he built Valor Equity Partners into a major investment firm with stakes in the technology sector.
The Second Winner
When SpaceX goes public on Friday, Gracias and his firm Valor Equity Partners will own 6.7% of Class A shares, giving the firm a $68 billion stake, according to the IPO prospectus. This makes Gracias the second-largest shareholder in the company after Musk.
Valor Equity Partners began as a private-equity firm focusing on distressed assets. Its success came from early investments in Tesla and SpaceX. Gracias wrote on X last year: "I have worked closely with Elon for over 20 years. His heart is pure, and his sole mission is to help humanity." He joined SpaceX's board in 2010, served on Tesla's board for 14 years, and has also joined the boards of Neuralink, The Boring Company, X, and xAI. When Musk joined DOGE, Gracias followed.
However, their partnership predates SpaceX. Gracias was an investor in PayPal, which merged with Musk's startup eBay. When he launched Valor, he invested $2 million in Tesla and, in 2008, put money into SpaceX. When Tesla went public in 2010, Valor owned 5.25% of the company, worth $83.5 million at the IPO offer price, according to a Dow Jones analysis.
Musk has publicly acknowledged their friendship. He said on X last week: "Antonio's ownership stems from absolute support, even when it looked like SpaceX would fail, and many investments over 2 decades. One could not ask for a better friend. He is a great man." Musk also revealed that Gracias once provided him with a short-term $1 million loan during a difficult period. Now, Gracias is set to reap substantial profits from the SpaceX IPO.
