Access to Elon Musk’s stock is controlled by a group of associates who quietly built distribution businesses through multiple shell companies, then reaped huge fees and profits.

Antonio Gracias and Elon Musk have a long-standing relationship, so much so that the Valor Equity Partners founder and his family spent their Christmas holidays with Musk in the Bahamas.

For Gracias, it’s been a lucrative relationship. He’s become a billionaire in part by investing in most of Musk’s companies over the years.

Now, Gracias and his firm have found a way to monetize their position: selling wealthy outsiders access to closely held shares in Musk’s private companies. Gracias, a current SpaceX board member and former Tesla board member, recently offered investors $1 billion in SpaceX and xAI shares through Valor in an exclusive private sale. If successful, he and the bankers involved stand to make millions in fees.

The documents, along with interviews with investors, lawyers, and bankers, offer a glimpse into a shadowy market that revolves around private company stocks—specifically SpaceX, xAI, Neuralink, and the Boring Company. Access to the shares is controlled by a tight-knit group of Musk associates who have quietly built distribution businesses through multiple shell companies, then reaped huge fees and profits.

Gracias’s sale comes amid a surge in SpaceX’s valuation, fueled in part by the prospect of lucrative contracts under the Trump administration. SpaceX’s valuation has increased 67% in the second half of 2024, while its stock has risen nearly 30-fold since 2015.

Morgan Stanley analysts, led by longtime Tesla bull Adam Jonas, believe bigger gains are ahead. They predict that SpaceX will generate $65 billion in revenue and $16 billion in net income by 2030, with Starlink accounting for 72% and 82%, respectively. They also argue that SpaceX’s growth prospects through 2026 could justify a valuation as high as double its current $350 billion.

Despite growing into one of the largest companies in the United States, SpaceX is still considered a secretive company, with its finances kept secret from all but a small group of investors and insiders. Most SpaceX shareholders have no idea how much the company makes or loses.

Remaining private allows SpaceX to escape the scrutiny of the stock market. It is rare for a venture capital firm of SpaceX’s size and stature to remain private for so long. The company has been around for more than two decades and has raised billions of dollars from hundreds of private investors.

One way SpaceX stays private is by limiting its investor base. If a company has 2,000 investors—not including employees who own shares through stock compensation plans—it is legally obligated to disclose financial information similar to a public company.

In the early days of fundraising, SpaceX was determined not to exceed 2,000. In recent years, as financial results have improved, SpaceX has not needed to raise additional cash by selling shares.

However, the company still has to give employees and other investors the opportunity to cash out some of their holdings, which SpaceX does through privately arranged sales about twice a year.

After they cash out their stakes, they sell those stakes to other investors through a network of funds. New investors don’t appear on SpaceX’s capitalization table, so the 2,000 mark never gets exceeded.

Investors close to Musk and his companies often get involved in deals like this by working directly with family office head Jared Birchall or SpaceX CFO Bret Johnsen.

“I’m personally involved and will raise if it works for you,” venture capitalist David Sacks texted Musk in 2022 after Musk asked if he would invest in Twitter. Sacks is now the White House’s AI and cryptocurrency czar.

Investors in the Gracias venture reportedly received an interest in a limited partnership holding $250 million in xAI stock and $750 million in SpaceX stock. Investors in the deal were required to have at least $50 million in assets and make a minimum investment of $1 million.

The sale will generate a large fee for Gracias and UBS, which marketed the deal, according to the documents. Gracias and Valor Equity Partners will earn a 1% annual management fee, according to the transaction documents. Valor will also earn a performance-related fee, known as a “transfer fee,” of 20% if SpaceX shares increase in value by more than 8% annually, according to the deal documents.

UBS Wealth Management, which is also Musk’s private bank, received a brokerage fee for the deal. The bank will also receive a portion of the performance fee Valor earns if SpaceX shares increase in value.

SpaceX’s recent surge in value has made its shares a prime target for secondary market players unlucky enough to be Musk’s friends. Such shares tend to be available in limited quantities.

With Starlink, SpaceX is looking to gain a share of a market worth more than $1 trillion a year. The company has rapidly built a network of 7,100 satellites in low Earth orbit—62% of all active spacecraft orbiting the planet, according to Jonathan McDowell, a space observer at Harvard. It also makes money by providing internet access to planes and ships, and it sells a military version called Starshield.

SpaceX doesn’t share financial information, but Chris Quilty, founder of Quilty Space, estimates the company is on track to grow revenue 58% by 2025 to $12.3 billion.

“Those are staggering numbers,” he told Forbes.