Elon Musk became the world’s first trillionaire after SpaceX shares surged following the company’s highly anticipated stock market debut on June 12. While much of the attention has focused on the wealth added to Musk’s fortune, the listing has also transformed the lives of thousands of current and former employees who accumulated company stock over the years.
The rocket maker closed its first trading session with a market valuation of about $2.1 trillion, making it one of the most valuable publicly traded companies in the world. The rally in its shares is expected to create thousands of new millionaires, with estimates suggesting that more than 4,400 current and former employees hold stock worth at least $1 million.
As per an analysis by Hill.com, nearly 400 employees may earn $100 million or more. “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, said.
One such beneficiary is Trevor Hise, who joined SpaceX in 2011 after completing college. At the time, his family encouraged him to pursue a stable career path at General Electric. Instead, the 37-year-old chose to stay with SpaceX, a decision that has now proved life-changing.
After spending 12 years at the company, Hise, who worked as a SpaceX launch engineer, accumulated more than 100,000 shares. “The magnitude of this has been ridiculous. At the time, there was very much the sentiment that SpaceX was an unproven start-up that wouldn’t last very long,” he was quoted by NYT.
SpaceX shares surged 19% on their first day of trading on Nasdaq following the largest IPO in history. The stock ended the session at around $161, giving the company a market valuation of approximately $2.1 trillion, with further gains in extended trading adding nearly $100 billion more to its value.
Another former employee, Gavin Petit, joined SpaceX in 2012 as a launch engineer. In addition to his salary, he received company shares that were then valued at less than $14 each. Over the years, he opted to take bonuses in stock rather than cash, despite the uncertainty surrounding the young company.
Although he sold some shares during liquidity events to pay off his home, Petit, who left SpaceX in 2023, retained the majority of his holdings. Today, he owns more than 50,000 shares and stands to benefit significantly from the IPO. He described the offering as “the Coca-Cola or Google IPO of my time. I got so lucky I got hooked into it.”
Not everyone held on to their shares. Some former employees reportedly sold stock early or exchanged it during periods when SpaceX’s future remained uncertain. With the company now approaching a historic public debut, those workers now regret that decision.
The IPO represents a rare example of wealth creation extending far beyond founders and senior executives. While most major public offerings generate billions for company leadership and investors, SpaceX’s scale means thousands of employees are also expected to share in the gains.
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