Why Rocket Lab shares just jumped a third, lifting Sir Peter Beck's wealth to $9b

Rocket Lab shares surged 34.3% today to an all-time high of US$105.55.

The lift-off followed the Kiwi-American firm’s record quarterly result and bullish forecast, filed Thursday (Friday NZT), thanks to huge new US military contracts and forward bookings for its coming Neutron rocket, part-fabricated at an .

“I’m thrilled to confirm that Rocket Lab has been selected to enable one of the nation’s top national security priorities, the Space Based Intercepter programme under Golden Dome,” founder and chief executive Sir Peter Beck said on a call with analysts, referring to President Donald Trump’s US$3.2b ($5.4b) plan to build a missile defence system for the United States.

Today’s jump added US$16.5 billion ($27.7b) to Rocket Lab’s market value, and boosted its Southland-raised founder and chief executive’s estimated fortune by close to $3b.

Forbes’ real-time net worth tracker now puts Beck’s wealth, which is largely tied to his minority stake in Rocket Lab, at US$5.1b ($9.1b).