An Intern Disobeyed His Parents and Joined SpaceX in 2011. Following Its Historic IPO, He and Thousands of Other Employees Are Now Millionaires
Today’s record-shattering IPO has created a lot of wealth for a lot of people–Elon Musk foremost among them.
BY BRIAN CONTRERAS, STAFF WRITER @_B_CONTRERAS_
Jun 12, 2026
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Bret Johnsen, CFO, center, and Gwynne Shotwell, president, center right, during SpaceX’s IPO at the Nasdaq MarketSite in New York City on Friday, June 12. Photo: Getty Images
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With SpaceX finally making its long-awaited debut on the Nasdaq, fans of the Elon Musk-backed rocketry venture—most of whom have been unable to buy a stake in the company until now—are having a great day.
Probably having an even better one? The many current and former SpaceX employees who picked up equity during their time working for the engineering giant and, thanks to this Friday’s record-breaking IPO, can finally cash out on the public markets ( at least eventually).
Indeed, with early signs looking good for the stock—initially priced by Musk at $135 per share, Yahoo Finance and Google Finance data indicate it’s now trading at around $164, despite the skepticism of many analysts who’ve cautioned against overinflated expectations—preexisting SpaceX shareholders seem poised to secure an eye-popping ROI.
The New York Times estimates that the company has 22,000 employees, plus hundreds more who have left. Many of them were paid in part with equity rather than 100 percent cash, leaving them with shares that they will soon be able to liquidate amid sky-high demand from retail investors eager to get SpaceX exposure.
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The most highly rewarded of these employees will, of course, be Musk himself, who is set to become the world’s first trillionaire (at least on paper) following the public listing.
But, citing data from the investment platform Hill.com, the Times estimates that around 4,400 other SpaceX employees will at least become millionaires—many of whom never expected to be so lucratively compensated when they first took their jobs at the rockets, satellites, and AI company. An upper echelon of 400 company affiliates will make $100 million or more.
“The magnitude of this has been ridiculous,” 37-year-old Trevor Hise told the paper, explaining how he took an internship at SpaceX after graduating from college in 2011—despite the protests of his parents, who wanted him to lock down a more stable gig—and then stayed there for the next 12 years.
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