According to analysis by San Francisco-based investment platform Hill.com, more than 4,400 current and former SpaceX employees now hold stock worth at least $1 million, while nearly 400 are expected to have stakes $100 million or more.
The scale of wealth creation has drawn comparisons with some of Silicon Valley’s most iconic public offerings, including Google and Facebook.
Google’s IPO Created Millionaires
When Google went public in August 2004, it was one of Silicon Valley’s most talked-about technology companies. The IPO transformed the fortunes of employees who had joined the company during its early years.
Google’s shares climbed after the listing and ended their first day of trading at $100.30, well above the IPO price of $85 per share. According to a New York Times report, roughly 1,000 Google employees became millionaires on paper after the listing.
The company’s founders, Larry Page and Sergey Brin, eventually became billionaires as Google’s valuation continued to rise in the years that followed. As per 2019 Regulatory filings, each held Google shares worth more than $12 billion.
Facebook Minted Billionaires Across Silicon Valley
Facebook’s 2012 IPO created another major wealth event. Founder Mark Zuckerberg became one of the world’s youngest billionaires, while several early executives, investors and employees also saw their fortunes multiply. Zuckerberg saw his net worth soar to more than $20 billion at the age of 28 with his 533.8 million shares of stock.
Among the biggest beneficiaries were COO Sheryl Sandberg, CFO David Ebersman, vice president of engineering Mike Schroepfer, early investor Peter Thiel and Facebook co-founder Dustin Moskovitz. Jim Breyer, whose VC firm Accel Partners backed Facebook in its early days, also saw the value of his stake surge into the billions.
Early employees who had received stock options similarly found themselves sitting on sizable fortunes after the social media giant went public.
SpaceX Takes Wealth Creation To A New Level
While Google and Facebook created thousands of wealthy employees, SpaceX’s debut may stand apart because of the sheer number of workers expected to benefit. Unlike many IPOs where wealth is concentrated among founders and a handful of senior executives, SpaceX’s employee ownership structure means a significant portion of the gains are spread across workers who helped build the company.
Industry experts note that it is rare for a public offering to create hundreds of individuals with holdings worth more than $100 million. “You’re usually only going to see the founders become billionaires. It’s uncommon to have 400 people at that threshold” of $100 million. It speaks to the enormous wealth that’s being created here,” Andrew Benson, the founder and chief executive of Hill.com, told the NYT.
Taking A Chance Early
A common thread linked Google, Facebook and SpaceX success stories is that employees who took a chance on the companies before they became household names. Many early employees accepted lower salaries, uncertain career prospects and significant risks in exchange for stock ownership. In return, they became part of some of the largest wealth-creation stories in corporate history.
