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Musk Is the World’s First Trillionaire. Who Was the First Billionaire?

John D. Rockefeller, the Gilded Age oil baron, became America’s first billionaire in 1916. Like Elon Musk’s ascension, the milestone made headlines.

© Associated Press

John D. Rockefeller Sr., in Lakewood, N.J., in 1933. Rockefeller, the Gilded Age oil baron, became a billionaire in 1916.
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SpaceX’s Unlikely Journey From Far-Out Idea to $2 Trillion Juggernaut

Elon Musk said he had initially given SpaceX less than a 10 percent chance of succeeding. His rocket company has come a long way.

© Andres Kudacki for The New York Times

A SpaceX ad on the Nasdaq MarketSite tower in Times Square. The company, which Elon Musk founded in 2002, began trading on the stock market on Friday.
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