From The ‘School Of Elon Musk’ To Billion-Dollar Startups: Meet SpaceX’s Alumni Founders

Former SpaceX propulsion CTO Thomas Mueller’s space startup reached unicorn status this year thanks to $525 million in funding since 2021. It’s just one of 141 other startups founded by SpaceX alumni. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Trump backer and hedge fund billionaire Paul Singer is getting credit for his prescient $6 billion bet on oil refiner CITGO. Others set to cash in on the deal include Goldman Sachs alums, oil tycoons and private equity billionaires. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The electric carmaker’s 6.7% global sales drop last year shows it used just 70% of its plant capacity — a level comparable to traditional auto rivals. Things could get worse in 2026. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Deposing Latin America’s foremost dictator seems to have lifted the prices of the president’s crypto-tied assets. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Sisters Terry Leprino and Gina Vecchiarelli are the newly minted billionaires behind the $3.6 billion dairy empire founded by their grandfather, as Dan Vecchiarelli has taken over as chairman. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The gap between the planet’s two wealthiest people has never been larger heading into the New Year. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Amid the worst market for chemicals in 20 years, Michelin-starred restaurant owner and commodities trader Ignacio Torras says his Houston-based Tricon Energy is having the best year ever. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

The number of billionaires aged 39 or younger who built their own fortunes has soared amid the AI boom, tying the all-time record set in 2021. These are the 40 wealthiest. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

A bold pivot to country music led to the most successful concert tour in the genre’s history and helped Cowboy Carter lasso a 10-figure fortune—becoming just the fifth musician to do so. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.

Messy lawsuits, tumbling stock prices, inappropriate workplace relationships and Jeffrey Epstein fallouts can cause even the brightest careers to fall. Our annual list of career crashes illustrates how even the mightiest can fall. See Privacy Policy at https://art19.com/privacy and California Privacy Notice at https://art19.com/privacy#do-not-sell-my-info.