Retail investors flocked in large numbers to SpaceX’s offering, but it appears that those who saw gains soar, beyond controlling shareholder Elon Musk, of course, were private equity funds.
Calcalist has learned that one of them, StepStone VC Secondary Fund, was marketed in Israel to qualified investors. The fund built exposure to SpaceX through direct share purchases and secondary holdings in funds before the offering. Its exposure to SpaceX before the offering reached as much as $400 million, representing 10% of its assets under management. The fund, marketed in Israel through Leader Private Capital, led by Itay Elnatan, raised $30 million for StepStone in 2024.
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Letters to investors said SpaceX’s valuation after the offering rose to $2.4 trillion, six times the purchase price, bringing the holding to 60% of the fund’s total exposure. The Israeli money in the fund exposed to SpaceX is estimated at $3 million and is now worth $18 million, meaning a paper profit of $15 million