The writer is an FT contributing editor, a visiting fellow at the Hoover Institution and author of a forthcoming book on globalisation
One of the extraordinary aspects of SpaceX’s IPO has been the scramble to buy shares outside of America. In Australia, brokers’ call centres opened emergency hours. Over 100,000 people in stagnant Britain applied for an alternative journey on Elon Musk’s financial rocket. There was an investor stampede in Japan. In South Korea unmet demand has become a national scandal. Chinese buyers were barred by US authorities but still found back channels. Even as the Gulf states worry about waning US defence guarantees, their sovereign funds placed multibillion-dollar orders.
The frenzy reflects Musk-mania and a bigger trend. Foreigners’ holdings of US shares have hit $22tn, over triple the level in 2015. In many places, the best way of creating wealth has been owning a stake in US capitalism. Gatecrashing America’s party has been staggeringly lucrative. But it means the world is now far more exposed to a market crash there. And, in some countries, it raises uncomfortable questions about why, even as they seek more autonomy from an unreliable America, much risk-taking is outsourced to it.