Wall Street is celebrating in style after SpaceX completed its first day of public trading, with major investment banks throwing elaborate parties to mark the rocket company’s groundbreaking initial public offering.
At JPMorgan’s massive midtown Manhattan headquarters on Friday, CEO Jamie Dimon hosted SpaceX COO Gwynne Shotwell, CFO Brett Johnsen, and 250 company employees at the building’s “Top of the House” location. The space-themed celebration featured moon pies, astronaut ice cream, and specially-made cloud candy, according to someone with knowledge of the event.
Meanwhile, in Manhattan’s financial district, venture capital investors threw their own $30,000 rooftop celebration for 30 guests. The upscale gathering included premium A5 Wagyu beef sliders, Don Julio tequila, 18-year Macallan Scotch, and Dom Pérignon champagne. Even the cocktail ice cubes were customized with SpaceX’s distinctive “X” logo, a source familiar with the party planning revealed.
The public offering created a new generation of wealthy individuals, generated hundreds of millions in banking fees, delivered massive returns to early institutional backers, and elevated founder Elon Musk to become the world’s first trillionaire. These celebrations occurred amid ongoing concerns about consumer spending slowdowns and inflation worries, highlighting the contrast between Wall Street’s excitement and broader economic anxiety.
Data from Hill.com, a platform that handles private company share trading, estimates that at least 4,000 current and former SpaceX workers held equity positions valued at over $1 million when the company went public. An additional 400 employees possessed stakes worth more than $100 million.
“He (Musk) has long been reaching for the stars with his extra-terrestrial ambitions, and it appears plenty of investors share his enthusiasm for the future,” commented Susannah Streeter, chief investment strategist at Wealth Club.
The Nasdaq exchange, which secured the listing rights, displayed a massive 120-foot image of Musk at the opening bell ceremony on its Times Square billboard. Musk shared a photo on X showing Morgan Stanley’s banking team, including CEO Ted Pick, co-president Dan Simkowitz, and prominent technology banker Michael Grimes, all wearing identical green sneakers. The footwear choice referenced the bank’s use of the “greenshoe” provision that allows additional share allocation when investor demand exceeds expectations.
Investment banks participating in the IPO, which are expected to earn approximately $500 million in fees, have been organizing investor gatherings and celebrations throughout the week, sources familiar with the events reported.
At Goldman Sachs’ downtown headquarters, Co-Head of Global Banking Dan Dees held a celebration with Johnsen and other SpaceX leadership after the IPO pricing concluded Thursday evening, according to an event insider.
Goldman Sachs CEO David Solomon posted on social media Friday to congratulate Musk and his team, expressing the bank’s pride in serving as “lead left bookrunner” for the transaction, a designation that appears on the company’s registration documents and indicates the primary underwriter role.
SpaceX-themed party decorations appeared throughout the financial district. Goldman Sachs visitors on Friday received asteroid-shaped macaroons as gifts. JPMorgan plans to illuminate the top of its 1,388-foot Park Avenue tower with SpaceX rocket launch imagery to commemorate the bank’s partnership with the aerospace company.
JPMorgan’s equity trading team conducted their own bell-ringing ceremony on the trading floor when SpaceX shares began trading, followed by sharing a custom rocket-shaped cake.
JPMorgan’s Friday evening celebration is anticipated to be Wall Street’s largest SpaceX party, an event that Dimon personally proposed to Musk several months earlier.
The IPO festivities have extended over several weeks at the investment bank, beginning with Dimon’s interview with Musk during an investor conference call last Thursday for nearly 4,000 bank clients. During that conversation, the CEO described the innovative entrepreneur as the “Edison of our time.” On Friday, moon landing artifacts were exhibited at the bank’s headquarters while internal digital displays showcased SpaceX launch footage.
