The Big Story: SpaceX IPO means more to the Gulf than you might expect
In Fortune’s Gulf Brief today: Space X IPO: Gulf money will take center stage IMF warns Saudi on GDP growth for 2026 The UAE comes to Washington with investment on its mind War effects—Middle East family offices are reshaping global portfolios Plus: The 3 things we really enjoyed reading this week. It was hard to read a news story covering the Gulf last week that didn’t contain the word ‘Space X’—with good reason. Tipped to be the world’s largest IPO with a projected valuation of $1.77 trillion—SpaceX’s IPO is due to take place on Wednesday and is expected to raise roughly $75 billion. Gulf sovereign wealth funds and prominent investors are set to be among the biggest beneficiaries. The multi-billion-dollar windfalls they are poised to receive will offer a nicely-timed boost to their balance sheets, which have not enjoyed the usual flow of petrodollars since the outbreak of the Iran war. Zooming out, it marks a significant moment in validating their investment strategies, with the Gulf states ranking among some of the earliest investors in Elon Musk’s SpaceX and xAI—the two companies merged in early February to become a rocket business, satellite internet provider and AI company. If SpaceX debuts successfully at its expected valuation, it would be one of the clearest examples of Gulf capital backing a transformational technology platform before public markets fully recognized its value. Saudi Arabia’s Prince Alwaleed bin Talal—aka the “Warren Buffett of Arabia”—owns a 0.63% stake in SpaceX that could be worth around $10.6 billion if the IPO achieves its expected $1.77 trillion valuation. He’s in good company, with a cluster of high-profile Gulf sovereign wealth funds having exposure to SpaceX through both direct and indirect investments. While their stakes fall below reporting thresholds, the IPO should crystallize enormous paper gains for all of them. But, for Gulf investors, the listing is not just about financial returns. In its IPO filing,