tech
The Math Behind Silicon Valley's Millionaire Factory
How stock awards at OpenAI, Anthropic, and SpaceX grew into life-changing fortunes.
TL;DR
- Equity grants at frontier tech companies can grow into substantial wealth.
- A SpaceX Software Engineer II offer from August 2022 included an equity grant potentially worth over $4 million at IPO valuation.
- Engineers at Anthropic who joined in 2023 may have equity worth tens of millions of dollars.
- Some 2022 and 2023 equity grants at OpenAI are now valued at over $50 million.
- Factors like vesting, dilution, lockups, and taxes can reduce the actual employee payout.