Investing
Australia’s Billionaire Gina Rinehart made US$425 million from SpaceX shares in 2 days
Australian mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has reportedly made an unrealised gain of approximately US$425 million after investing more than US$1 billion in SpaceX's blockbuster initial public offering. SpaceX shares have surged 42.5% since listing on Nasdaq, lifting the value of Hancock Prospecting's stake to around US$1.43 billion. Hancock said it views SpaceX as a rare business with significant long-term potential and sees possible future opportunities linked to its critical minerals investments. The strong debut has also pushed SpaceX's valuation above US$2 trillion, making it one of the world's most valuable companies.
Mining billionaire Gina Rinehart has scored roughly US$425 million (AU$630 million) in gains after buying into SpaceX via its IPO.
According to reports, Hancock Prospecting Ltd, run by Iron Ore tycoon Gina Rinehart, was the largest order of SpaceX stock in its recent IPO launched on Nasdaq last week with more than US$1 billion worth secured.
SpaceX's Debut on the Market Sparks Surge in Shares
The shares were priced at US$135 each ahead of the start of trade on Friday. The share, which finished its opening trading day at US$160.95 and hit US$192.50 by Monday's close.
That quickly puts the SpaceX share price 42.5% above its price on only day two of trading. At the reported US$1 billion investment, Hancock's stake is now valued at approximately US$1.43 billion, a gain of approx. $425 million.
Hancock Prospecting investment in SpaceX
Hancock Prospecting labelled SpaceX as one of those rare companies run by a rare founder and with long-term potential. SpaceX is best known for both its reusable rockets and its own Starlink satellite internet network, the company added. Since then, it has moved into artificial intelligence with the addition of Elon Musk's xAI business.
Garry Korte, chief executive of Hancock, said there might be a chance for collaboration between the two companies eventually. As SpaceX builds rockets, satellites, AI infrastructure and potential orbital data centres the company will need to source vast amounts of fundamental minerals as well as other materials.
SpaceX valuation explodes over $2 trillion
The increase in SpaceX shares has brought the value to over $170 billion, making its market capitalisation exceed US$2 trillion. SpaceX has raised US$75 billion from the sale of 555.6 million shares in an amount equivalent to US$135.
Underwriters then took up an option to purchase a further 83.3mn shares, bringing total proceeds from the offering to US$85.7bn. The strong performance since the IPO is said to have been in part driven by demand of more than US$250 billion for the shares. By 2025 SpaceX had revenues of US$18.7 billion but was still loss-making as expenditure continued to increase across rockets, satellites and AI infrastructure.
Source: Motley Fool Australia