As seen from the Canaveral National Seashore, a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying 60 Starlink satellites is launched from pad 39A at the Kennedy Space Center on October 6, 2020 in Cape Canaveral, Florida. This is a group of 13 satellites placed in orbit by SpaceX as part of a constellation designed to provide broadband Internet service around the world. (Photo by Paul Hennessy/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
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A version of this article first appeared in CNBC’s Inside Wealth with Robert Frank, a weekly guide to the high net worth investor and consumer. sign up to receive upcoming programs, straight to your inbox.
Billionaire investment firms including former eBay President Jeff Skoll and AutoZone’s Pitt Hyde are set to reap rewards from SpaceX’s IPO this Friday.
However, while SpaceX’s profile exceeds that of nearly every other private space company, family office investors told CNBC they see other opportunities in the industry even in companies without Elon Musk’s name attached. In addition, they said they view space-related startups as opportunities to invest in infrastructure and defense rather than luxury bets in space exploration.
Tune in at 5 a.m. ET Friday to hear SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell in an exclusive interview about the historic IPO. Watch live on CNBC+ or the CNBC Pro stream.
Gary Lauder, the cosmetics heir turned venture capitalist, invested in SpaceX using a special purpose vehicle and two venture capital funds. He told CNBC that he was attracted to the potential of its Starlink satellite technology, not the prospect of space tourism.
Much of Lauder’s early investment was in telecommunications, and he took a satellite communications seminar in the early 1990s.
“I never dreamed of being an astronaut,” he said. “It’s an important form of communication.”
Jason Blanck, an investor who started his family office in 2024, said he is interested in the picks and shovels of space, such as critical hardware and data networks.
“I think the public markets are very focused on the discussion of the launch of rockets, the costs about the development of the plane, but from my point of view income of, of the real narrative has already emerged,” he said.
Robin Lauber’s Infinitas Capital invested in SpaceX in early 2025 with a second offering. He cited Musk’s track record and Starlink’s success as reasons to invest. Lauber also noted that the estimate was “reasonable” compared to the more than $1.75 trillion expected now.
He told CNBC that Infinitas would have sold some shares before the initial public offering if it had found a willing buyer at the right discounted price. Lauber is open to selling closed shares at a discount to recoup initial investment costs and to see how other shares fare.
Looking ahead, Lauber is weighing more investments in European space companies such as Isar Aerospace, a German launch service provider. He’s also considering participating in the new Alpine Space Ventures fund, which counts a SpaceX alum as a founding partner.
“European sovereignty is a big topic everywhere,” he said.
Investing in space-related firms was unpopular not too long ago, according to Jon Kutler of Admiralty Partners. He spent 10 years in the US Navy before becoming an aerospace and defense investment banker in the early 1980s. He left Wasserstein Perella & Co. in 1992 to start his own investment firm to focus more on the industry to the chagrin of his then boss, Bruce Wasserstein.
“He told me I was stupid because the Cold War was over and there would be no more spending on the defense industry,” Kutler said. “People were projecting that to be the end of the defense industry, but if you look at the history of mankind, we’re just not a peaceful species. To me, it seemed foolish to announce the end of defense spending, and I was willing to bet against that with my money and my time.”
Kutler sold that investment firm in 2002 to focus on his family office, Admiralty Partners. His finances include Firefly Aerospacerocket maker whose customers include Lockheed Martin and the US Space Force.
Investing in airlines pioneering new technology requires patience, Kutler said. This is where family offices have the edge over private equity firms as they are not under the pressure to earn returns on a fixed timeline.
While the prospect of visiting Mars is exciting, space exploration companies face a tough road to financial success because federal spending is inconsistent, he said.
“Defense spending will be a recurring theme. There will be ups and downs based on administration priorities, but there’s always a market there,” he said.
Kutler said the excitement over the SpaceX IPO poses a major risk to investing in the aerospace industry, such as changes in corporate costs. He added that he was concerned that the reduction in research funding would jeopardize the pipeline of future initiatives.
“There’s a temptation because of what’s going on right now to think that commercial space companies are the answer to everything,” Kutler said. “Maybe in the long run the commercial industry can make it cheaper, but if you take everything out, it takes a long time for that to happen, and this early investment by the government was critical to making these things happen.”
