SpaceX welder turned company shares into a fortune
A SpaceX welder earning around $28/hour received $10,000 worth of company stock year after year.
For years SpaceX paid employees with more than just salaries.
The company heavily rewarded workers with equity.
At the time:
- SpaceX wasnโt public
- shares couldnโt easily be sold
- there was no guarantee they would ever be worth much
Most people simply kept working.
Then in 2026:
- SpaceX announced its IPO with
$SPCX
- shares were priced at $135
- the company was suddenly worth $75 billion
Everything changed.
An employee only needs:
7,400 shares to reach $1 million
8,000 old options to reach $1 million
10,000 options to comfortably clear seven figures
Which means many long-time employees may have quietly become millionaires overnight.