SpaceX’s IPO to Mint Millionaires in Poor Texas Border Town

A 45-minute drive down a narrow highway separates one of America’s poorest border cities from the heart of Elon Musk’s SpaceX empire.

A lot has changed in Brownsville, Texas, since the private aerospace giant moved in a decade ago, building a bustling spaceport nearby on the Gulf of Mexico shore. Two French restaurants opened in the city’s dusty downtown, catering to the newcomers. The beach long favored as a hangout for low-income families now draws Cybertrucks and space tourists snapping photos of launch towers.

But the new money flowing into Brownsville has created both winners and losers — a dynamic sure to be turbocharged when SpaceX ...