Don’t ask SpaceX for projections, reach for the stars Opinion Elon Musk can’t provide concrete figures showing how much money SpaceX will make from space tourism or asteroid mining because his horizons are lightyears away, says Rainer Zitelmann In 1949, 20 years before the first moon landing, the world-famous American science fiction author Robert A. Heinlein wrote the short story The Man Who Sold the [...]
SpaceX IPO prospectus is notably vague on Musk’s long-term ambitions Opinion SpaceX's IPO prospectus is 377 pages long, yet vague around Musk's long-term ambitions for space tourism, asteroid mining and real estate.
How SpaceX could become the most valuable company in the universe Opinion Elon Musk’s plans to colonise Mars may sound far-fetched, but he has already achieved most of what he set to do. But in order to make science fiction a reality, we need to make sure companies are rewarded for taking risks in space, says Rainer Zitelmann SpaceX is aiming to go public in June setting [...]
Why democracy needs the rich May 7, 2026 A new book argues that, in a democracy, an intellectual class that holds homogeneous, anti-capitalist views demands a counterweight of the wealthy contributing to politics, says Rainer Zitelmann In 2021 and 2022, a representative survey on attitudes toward the market economy and capitalism was conducted in 34 countries. Among other things, respondents were presented with [...]
Ukraine is turning West in its economic thinking April 1, 2026 Ukraine and Russia once shared a Soviet system but are now moving in opposite directions. One is becoming more aligned with the economic values of Western democracies; the other remains rooted in a tradition of state control, says Rainer Zitelmann A quiet but consequential shift is underway in Eastern Europe. While geopolitical attention has focused [...]
Free speech is under threat in Germany March 13, 2026 Historian and CityAM columnist Rainer Zitelmann finds himself in the crossfire of Germany’s free-speech debate I will turn 69 in June, and it is the first time in my life that I have come into conflict with the law. At the beginning of February I received a letter from the Berlin police: “Written statement [...]
Trump’s tariffs are unconstitutional and his figures are pure fantasy February 23, 2026 Donald Trump claims to have secured $18 trillion in ‘investment’ thanks to tariffs, but much of this is just purchasing, R&D or hiring, says Rainer Zitelmann Tariffs are the central pillar of Donald Trump’s economic policy. Yet it was precisely in this area that he violated the US Constitution. This was not determined by leftwing [...]
If Russia wins, one year on February 3, 2026 A year on from the publication of Carlo Masala’s If Russia Wins, it’s warning about the West’s complacency are more important than ever, says Rainer Zitelmann One year ago, Carlo Masala, the renowned German professor of security and defence policy, completed his book “Wenn Russland gewinnt” (“If Russia Wins”). Unfortunately, the book, which is meant [...]
Oxfam is peddling myths about wealth ahead of Davos January 20, 2026 Every year Oxfam tries to establish a link between the rising wealth of the rich and increasing poverty ahead of the World Economic Forum in Davos. But no such link exists, says Rainer Zitelmann There are more and more billionaires in the world, and their wealth keeps growing. This emerges from a report that Oxfam, [...]
Trump’s protectionism is a threat to freedom January 9, 2026 Donald Trumps approach to Vietnam reveals the conflict of interest between his trade policy and his private business interests, says Rainer Zitelmann Donald Trump has said it time and time again: “To me, the most beautiful word in the dictionary is tariff. It’s my favorite word.” Over the years, Trump has expressed opposing opinions on [...]
