After risking a gamble on SpaceX by backing Elon Musk when the company was facing financial turmoil, Antonio Gracias is set to see major gains if Musk’s rocket company eventually goes public at the valuation figures currently circulating in financial reports, making it one of the biggest financial payouts in history.
Gracias, founder and chief executive of Valor Equity Partners, invested in SpaceX during the late 2000s when the company faced heavy financial pressure after several failed Falcon 1 launches. At the time, SpaceX was struggling to secure enough funding to continue operations while also attempting to prove that privately developed rockets could successfully reach orbit.
SpaceX’s fourth Falcon 1 mission in September 2008 became the first privately funded liquid-fueled rocket to reach Earth orbit, a milestone widely regarded as critical to the company’s survival. Shortly afterward, NASA awarded SpaceX a Commercial Resupply Services contract worth approximately $1.6 billion, helping stabilize the company financially.
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Reports published by Financial Express and other outlets state that Valor Equity Partners currently holds a stake in SpaceX that could become extraordinarily valuable if the company launches a public offering in the future. However, SpaceX has not formally announced an IPO, and projected valuation figures cited in reports remain speculative.
Some analysts and market observers have discussed a potential SpaceX valuation reaching as high as $2 trillion in the future, though no official valuation has been confirmed by the company. Based on those projections, Valor’s holdings could potentially be worth tens of billions of dollars.
Although he keeps away from the spotlight for the most part, Gracias has maintained close professional ties with Musk for years and has also served on Tesla’s board of directors. His investment firm has backed several technology and industrial companies, with a focus on longterm growth investments.
Born in the United States to a family with Indian heritage, Gracias studied at Georgetown University before earning a law degree from the University of Chicago. He later founded MG Capital, which eventually became Valor Equity Partners.
SpaceX has grown from a high-risk startup into one of the world’s leading private aerospace companies. The company now operates Falcon 9 rockets, conducts regular missions for NASA and commercial customers, and continues development of Starship, a next-generation spacecraft designed for deep-space travel.
READ: SpaceX IPO: Elon Musk’s rocket giant files confidentially (April 1, 2026)
According to Financial Express, Valor Equity Partners is estimated to hold roughly 7.3% of SpaceX. If the company were eventually valued at $2 trillion, an assumption of the figure discussed by some investors and analysts, that stake could theoretically be worth about $146 billion before taxes, dilution and other adjustments. More recent private-market estimates have placed SpaceX’s valuation closer to $350 billion to $400 billion. The company has also expanded rapidly operationally, conducting roughly 170 launches in 2025 and operating more than 7,000 Starlink satellites in orbit, making it the world’s largest satellite internet constellation
Although speculation surrounding a possible SpaceX IPO continues to attract investor attention, Musk has previously indicated reluctance about taking the company public before its long-term Mars transportation goals are achieved.
Still, analysts say early investors like Gracias gain benefit significantly from SpaceX’s rapid rise, given the company’s dominant position in the commercial space industry and its expanding satellite internet business, Starlink.