How is the person who lent Elon Musk $1 million nearly 20 years ago now?
(Dan Tri) - In 2008, a close friend lent Elon Musk $1 million at a time when SpaceX was on the verge of bankruptcy. Now, SpaceX is officially listed on the stock exchange and is worth 2.1 trillion USD.
Who is the close friend who lent Elon Musk $1 million?
SpaceX aerospace technology company was founded by Elon Musk on March 14, 2002 in El Segundo city (California, USA). Unlike many other technology companies, SpaceX has no co-founder other than Elon Musk.
In the early days of establishment, to save costs, Elon Musk rented a small industrial warehouse in El Segundo city for office space. Here, SpaceX's engineering team began designing and manufacturing the company's first rocket model, called Falcon 1.
The entire cost of operating SpaceX and developing Falcon 1 comes from Elon Musk's personal money, because at this time SpaceX is still too young and has not made any mark to call for funding.
During the period from 2006 to 2008, SpaceX tested launching the Falcon 1 rocket three times, but all failed, leaving the company on the brink of bankruptcy.
Antonio Gracias used his own money to lend Elon Musk $1 million, helping SpaceX get through the most difficult period (Photo: BusinessBull).
At a time when it seemed like Elon Musk had to give up his dream of conquering the universe, a close friend lent Musk $1 million to continue maintaining SpaceX's operations. The close friend who supported Elon Musk promptly was Antonio Gracias.
Antonio Gracias, born in 1970, was born in the city of Detroit (Michigan state, USA). His father was a neurosurgeon of Indian origin, his mother was a pharmacist of Spanish origin.
He graduated with a bachelor's and master's degree in International Finance and Economics from Georgetown University (Washington, DC). He went on to earn a doctorate in law from the University of Chicago Law School.
In 1995, while still a student, Antonio Gracias founded MG Capital venture capital fund, focusing on buying and restructuring manufacturing and technology companies that encountered difficulties during operations.
With an initial capital of 400,000 USD (130,000 USD from Antonio Gracias' pocket and 270,000 USD raised from friends and relatives), MG Capital achieved unexpected success. In 2001, after raising a capital of 100 million USD, Antonio Gracias decided to expand his investment fund and changed its name to Valor Equity Partners.
In 2000, Antonio Gracias became acquainted with Elon Musk through a mutual friend. Gracias has invested in financial technology group Paypal, where Elon Musk serves as a co-founder. In 2005, one year after Elon Musk acquired the electric car company Tesla, Valor Equity Partners became one of the earliest investors in this car company.
From investment and business relationships, the relationship between Antonio Gracias and Elon Musk is becoming increasingly closer. The two often celebrate Christmas, New Year, go on vacation together... Antonio Gracias even became the best man at the wedding of Kimbal Musk, Elon Musk's younger brother.
In 2008, Gracias loaned Elon Musk $1 million from his own pocket to help SpaceX continue operating. This is considered financial support between two friends, instead of an investment from Gracias' company.
This amount of money helped SpaceX have more funding to operate and successfully launch the Falcon 1 rocket on September 28, 2008. This is considered a turning point, helping SpaceX win a $1.6 billion contract from NASA to carry out at least 12 cargo flights to the International Space Station (ISS).
In a speech in 2012, Elon Musk acknowledged Antonio Gracias' timely support: "I don't think we could have overcome it without his help. Antonio's absolute support for SpaceX comes from trust, even when it seemed like the company was about to fail. Can't find a better friend. He is a great person."
Last year, Elon Musk also invited Antonio Gracias to join the Department of Government Effectiveness (DOGE) to support President Donald Trump's administration in sharply cutting operating costs in the public sector. Gracias joined DOGE in a role reviewing the Twitter Social Security Agency's files for evidence of large-scale voter fraud.
Although Gracias left DOGE only a short time after joining, this still shows the close and close relationship between him and Elon Musk.
Antonio Gracias's fortune "exploded" thanks to the SpaceX deal going public
After lending Elon Musk $1 million from his personal assets, Antonio Gracias was put on SpaceX's board of directors by Elon Musk.
According to filings filed by SpaceX with the US Securities and Exchange Commission, Antonio Gracias' Valor Equity Partners investment fund currently owns 6.7% of shares in SpaceX, the second largest shareholder in this company after Elon Musk (Musk holds about 42% of shares).
Antonio Gracias is currently the second largest shareholder at SpaceX, after Elon Musk (Photo: Bloomberg).
Currently, SpaceX's shares continue to increase sharply after officially listing on the stock exchange on June 12, helping the assets of Valor Equity Partners investment fund increase by 90 billion USD.
However, Antonio Gracias does not need to wait until SpaceX goes public to become a billionaire. Successful investment deals have helped him own assets of up to 24.4 billion USD and be the 105th richest person in the world according to Bloomberg's billionaires ranking.