Archive · 17 Sep 2026
Elon Musk ally Gracias returns billions in SpaceX shares
Antonio Gracias runs an investment firm called Valor Equity Partners.
The firm invested in SpaceX many years ago.
SpaceX became much more valuable, making the investment very profitable.
Valor gave investors about $8.5 billion worth of SpaceX shares.
It gave them shares directly instead of selling the shares for cash.
This may help investors with taxes and avoids selling a large number of shares at once.
Valor still owns a large part of SpaceX.
Gracias says he remains very positive about SpaceX and wants to keep his own shares for a long time.
Valor Equity Partners distributed about $8.5 billion worth of SpaceX shares to investors.
The in-kind distribution represented about 8.5% of Valor’s SpaceX holdings.
Investors received shares directly instead of cash from a stock sale, potentially offering tax advantages and avoiding market impact.
Valor initially held roughly 4% of SpaceX after the company went public in June and still controls about 3.4%.
Antonio Gracias has described SpaceX as highly consequential and said he plans to hold his personal stake as long as possible.
- Who
- Valor Equity Partners, led by Antonio Gracias, distributed SpaceX shares to its investors.
- What
- The firm returned about $8.5 billion worth of SpaceX shares through an in-kind distribution.
- When
- The distribution was disclosed in a Form 4 filing released Tuesday evening; Gracias had discussed the plan in June.
- Where
- The filing concerned Valor’s holdings in SpaceX.
- Why
- The distribution allowed investors to begin realizing gains while avoiding a large stock sale; the structure may also offer tax advantages.
- Distributed value
- About $8.5 billion in SpaceX shares
- Distribution size
- About 8.5% of Valor’s SpaceX holdings
- Distribution method
- In-kind transfer of shares directly to investors
- Valor’s remaining stake
- About 3.4% of SpaceX, worth nearly $92 billion according to Bloomberg calculations
- Initial SpaceX investment
- Valor had invested more than $400 million by 2021
- Gracias’s reported fortune
- About $19.9 billion, with most tied to his SpaceX holdings
- Personal SpaceX holdings
- About 87 million shares through Valor funds, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index