(Bloomberg) –It will likely make President Donald Trump’s already wealthy administration even wealthier.
Ten officials, from special envoy Steve Witkoff to Small Business Administration (SBA) chief Kelly Loeffler, have declared financial interests in Elon Musk’s rocket company or xAI, the artificial intelligence and social media company Musk merged with in February, according to their most recent public financial disclosures.
In total, federal officials held shares of SpaceX or xAI worth at least $9.9 million and as much as $43.8 million, according to disclosures made last year, which list the value of the assets in broad ranges. These employees could have sold all or part of their holdings since then without triggering additional disclosure requirements.
SpaceX stands out for the unprecedented size of its planned IPO and its close ties to government and management members. The IPO, scheduled to take place next week, should make Musk the world’s first trillionaire, if it reaches the targeted valuation of at least US$1.8 trillion. It is also expected to turn several of the company’s executives and investors into billionaires, in addition to generating millions in wealth for employees.
The company is a major government contractor, with $4 billion in federal transactions in fiscal 2025. Last month, it received an additional $6.5 billion in two U.S. Space Force contracts to provide satellites for communications and aerial threat monitoring.
Meanwhile, Musk helped select dozens of people to fill contract reduction and data collection positions across the federal government during his time running the Office of Government Efficiency. Many of them were his own employees, from SpaceX or other sectors of his empire.
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In Musk’s last month in Washington, Paul McInerny, a former SpaceX engineer, was named director of information technology at the Department of the Interior. McInerny held the largest equity stake in SpaceX among all employees, with an estimated value of between $5 million and $25 million. He did not have to divest his shares and instead received an ethics exemption to work on broad issues that could affect the company, documents filed show.
An Interior Department spokesman said McInerny refrains from participating in all matters involving his financial interests.
“Paul McInerny made the decision to serve our great country because he believes in the mission of the Trump administration and knows that all of government can operate more efficiently for the American taxpayer,” the spokesperson said. “Mr. McInerny takes his ethical obligations seriously.”
Another prominent SpaceX shareholder was Witkoff, who worked on peace negotiations over Ukraine, Gaza and Iran. He declared that he had between $1 million and $5 million in assets in 3G Investors LLC, a company whose only investment stated in the document was SpaceX. A White House spokesperson had no comment on Witkoff’s statement.
In most cases, it is unclear whether employees have made changes to their assets since the information was released. While they are legally required to report the sale of certain assets within 45 days of the transaction — including stocks and bonds — the assets of private companies are exempt from this obligation. The new financial statements presented in May should be made public by mid-June.
‘No analogues’
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SpaceX is seeking to raise up to $75 billion, which would make it the largest initial public offering (IPO) of shares in history. But lawyers specializing in government ethics say it’s not just the size of the IPO that makes it atypical.
“This is a truly exceptional event,” said Caleb Burns, co-chair of the election law and government ethics practice at the law firm Wiley Rein LLP. “It is the largest initial public offering in history, led by a former close ally of the president, who, through his efforts related to the Government Ethics Act (DOGE), has had involvement with virtually every administrative agency of the federal government.”
“Historically, there are no analogues,” he added.
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In at least one case, a nominee was required to resign from a position at SpaceX to comply with ethics requirements. Kevin Warsh, who replaced Jerome Powell as Federal Reserve chairman last month, had a stake in SpaceX through a fund affiliated with the Duquesne Family Office, led by billionaire investor Stan Druckenmiller. Warsh said in an ethics document that he would divest himself of that fund before taking up his role at the central bank.
The Fed declined to comment beyond what was presented in the ethics filing.
On other fronts of the Trump administration, officials revealed smaller stakes in Musk’s companies.
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Loeffler, a former senator and current administrator of the Small Business Administration (SBA), declared an investment in xAI valued at between $1 million and $5 million. Listed as an asset of the family office that invests for Loeffler and her husband, Jeffrey Sprecher, founder of Intercontinental Exchange Inc., the investment was in a UBS Group AG account through a Valor Equity Partners fund, whose only investment was in xAI, according to the filing. Valor was founded by Antonio Gracias, a former associate of Musk, and is one of SpaceX’s largest shareholders after Musk.
The SBA did not respond to a request for comment.
Michael Lynch, a former SpaceX employee and current deputy administrator of the General Services Administration (GSA) — an agency that manages contracts and properties belonging to the federal government — owned between $500,000 and $1 million in SpaceX stock, according to documents presented.
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“All appropriate ethical policies and processes were followed regarding this matter,” a GSA spokesperson said in an emailed statement. “Deputy Administrator Lynch is leveraging his industry-leading experience to help federal agencies purchase and use smart technology solutions that are most cost-effective for American taxpayers.”
Stacey Feinberg, ambassador to Luxembourg, declared that she has a financial stake in xAI through a fund managed by 1789 Capital, of which Donald Trump Jr. is a partner. His stake in the fund was valued at between $500,000 and $1 million. Like McInerny, she received approval to maintain her stake, with the government determining that the likelihood of any overlap between her duties and the company’s interests was “remote.”
The US ambassadors to Ireland, the Czech Republic and Portugal also declared holding stakes in SpaceX and xAI.
A State Department spokesperson said all government officials, including ambassadors, must comply with ethical transparency requirements and legal obligations.
Reilly Steel, an associate professor of law at Columbia University, said he is “not aware of another IPO in recent years in which so many senior government officials have a financial interest.”
Department of the Interior
Ethics officers must carefully evaluate the financial interests of federal appointees when it comes to stakes in companies that do business with the government.
“There are impediment obligations that can be applied to address any perceived conflicts of interest,” said Wiley Rein’s Burns, “but it’s not an easy assessment.”
McInerny, who made between $1 million and $5 million from the sale of some of his SpaceX shares in 2024 and 2025, worked in software at SpaceX, supporting the first Dragon and Falcon 9 missions, according to the Department of the Interior website. He is currently responsible for all data and technologies for the department, which manages hundreds of millions of acres of federal lands, environmental licensing and other responsibilities.
SpaceX interacts with the Department of the Interior (DOI) on several fronts, including as a minor contractor. The National Park Service uses its Starlink satellites. SpaceX has also requested approvals for projects: In Texas, it asked the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service, a DOI agency, for permission to install utility lines and a road near a wildlife preserve.
McInerny stressed to ethics officials that selling his SpaceX shares would be complex. While it is a private company, SpaceX controls when shareholders can sell and how much of their holdings they can divest, according to its ethical clearance. The government granted him permission to give his opinion on matters of “general applicability” that could affect his own financial interests in SpaceX, so that he could continue to perform his role, according to documents presented.
According to Scott Amey, legal advisor at the Project on Government Oversight, this agreement deserves special attention.
“It might be legal, but it’s not good practice,” he said. “This requires daily oversight. Best practice would be to disengage completely to eliminate even the appearance of a conflict of interest.”
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