SpaceX Blockbuster IPO Lures Investors Into Murky Private Deals

From Silicon Valley to Wall Street to the City of London, financial elites are hitting up their wealth managers and plugged-in friends for a way into SpaceX and OpenAI.

What they’re seeking is access to special purpose vehicles, which hold coveted private shares in such firms. For companies whose valuations in an IPO can be as much as double their most recent funding round, even investors who effectively own fractions of shares are potentially in line for a windfall.

There’s only one hitch: In some cases, investors are forking over their money first, and legal questions around who really ...