Elon Musk has done it. The world's first trillionaire. The numbers came in this morning. SpaceX valuation hit $1.2 trillion. Tesla, X, Neuralink all surging. Combined net worth: $1.07 trillion. The figure is staggering. Even for him.
But here's the Westminster angle. UK institutions are sitting pretty. Legal & General, Aviva, Scottish Mortgage Investment Trust. They all piled into SpaceX early. The returns are eye-watering. One source tells me a major pension fund has just seen a 400% gain on its 2019 bet. Whitehall is buzzing. The Treasury is quietly calculating the tax windfall. Capital gains, dividend taxes, corporate levies. It's a lot of money.
Downing Street is cautious. No official statement yet. But a senior No. 10 aide let slip they're 'delighted' for British savers. The subtext is clear. This is good for the narrative. A British success story via American tech. The Chancellor is planning a call. Musk is on his speed dial.
The opposition is restless. Labour's Treasury team is grumbling about inequality. One shadow minister texted me: 'One man is worth more than half the UK economy. That's not success. That's a crisis.' They'll make noise. But the mood in the City is ecstatic. Champagne corks popping.
Inside the lobby, the talk is of the political fallout. Musk is a divisive figure. His salutes, his tweets, his sudden forays into UK politics. He backed the Tories once. Now he's flirting with Reform. The right wing of the party is whispering about a Musk alliance. The left is horrified. But money talks. And today, that money is British.
What happens next? Musk is likely to visit London soon. Sources say he wants to lobby on AI regulation. The PM is keen to show off the UK as a tech hub. A summit is being discussed. The details are fluid. But the optics will be carefully managed. No handshakes near the cameras. Not after last time.
For now, the markets are calm. The pound is steady. Pensioners won't notice. But the millionaires in Mayfair are buying a second round. The game has changed. Musk has won. And the UK is along for the ride.
