SpaceX’s blockbuster IPO has resulted in over 4,400 employees turning millionaires, the New York Times reported, citing an analysis by investment platform Hill.com. The space exploration company debuted on the Nasdaq on Friday at $150 per share, with the stock instantly rising as trading progressed.
Engineers, launch operators and even hourly blue-collar workers who once sat for days in windowless offices in South Texas, betting their careers on Elon Musk’s vision are these millionaires.
About 400 of those employees are expected to clear $100 million or more. “With most IPOs, you’re usually only going to see the founders become billionaires,” Hill.com’s Andrew Benson told NYT. “It’s uncommon to have 400 people at that threshold.”
Musk himself, 54, became the world’s first trillionaire through the listing.
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The stories behind the numbers are remarkable. Gavin Petit joined SpaceX in 2012 on an $80,000 salary, when each share was worth just $13.80. He quietly chose to take his bonuses in stock instead of cash, a risk, given SpaceX rockets were still failing at the time.
He now holds over 50,000 shares. Petit told the NYT the IPO felt like “the Coca-Cola or Google IPO of my time.”
Then there are those who did not hold on — employees who sold their shares years ago, convinced SpaceX would never list. Rumours swirled that some early staff traded their equity for restaurant gift cards. They are now consumed by regret.
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