SpaceX cafeteria workers could become millionaires after IPO

The upcoming SpaceX IPO stands to make Elon Musk a very rich man. But it could also make SpaceX employees, even the company's cafeteria workers, rake in big moolah and become millionaires.

In Short

• SpaceX IPO could create around 4,400 new millionaires
• Company’s cafeteria workers and other hourly employees could become millionaires
• The listing is expected to value SpaceX at $1.77 trillion

The world's richest person, Elon Musk, is about to get even richer. SpaceX's highly anticipated IPO is expected to value the company at around $1.77 trillion and could put the billionaire entrepreneur on track to become the world's first trillionaire. But Musk won't be the only one celebrating it seems. According to reports, many SpaceX employees, even the company’s cafeteria workers could become millionaires after the IPO.

According to a Bloomberg report, SpaceX's upcoming initial public offering (IPO) is expected to create around 4,400 new millionaires. These include – possibly – cafeteria workers and other hourly employees who have spent years quietly accumulating company stock through compensation packages. The space-tech major is set to price its shares at $135 on Thursday before beginning trading on Friday.

At the expected IPO price, SpaceX would command a valuation of roughly $1.77 trillion. That would place the company among the world's most valuable businesses and potentially put Musk on track to become the first trillionaire. Yet the IPO is also poised to transform the lives of thousands of current and former employees. Many of them accumulated company stock over years of working at SpaceX, even before the company became one of the world's most valuable private firms.

According to reports, these beneficiaries are not limited to senior executives or engineers. Some of the workers expected to benefit include hourly blue-collar employees at launch sites and support staff who spent years helping keep operations running behind the scenes.

Another report by The New York Times highlighted the story of one of the employee names Trevor Hise, who joined SpaceX after an internship in 2011. Hise spent 12 years at SpaceX as a launch engineer and now considers himself semi-retired.

He reportedly owns more than 100,000 SpaceX shares earned during his time at the company. At the expected IPO price of $135 per share, those holdings would be worth at least $13.5 million.

Do note that there are still risks involved in an IPO of this size, particularly given the overwhelming demand. However, if the listing goes as planned, the biggest story may not be Musk's growing wealth. Instead, it could be the thousands of employees, including cafeteria workers, technicians and support staff, whose years of stock-based compensation are finally about to pay off in a very public way.

Meanwhile, SpaceX's IPO arrives as several of the world's most valuable private technology companies are also eyeing public listings. AI giants OpenAI and Anthropic have reportedly begun confidential IPO preparations as they seek fresh sources of capital to support their rapid growth and rising computing costs.

- Ends