SpaceX lists June 12 at $1.75 trillion. More than one-third of everything on the BSE.
4,000 employees become millionaires that day. 400 crosses $100 million. Here’s the math on that.
Clearing $100M at $1.75T needs 0.006% of the company. Whether you ever had that comes down entirely to when you joined.
SpaceX was worth $27 million in 2002. By September 2008, the day their fourth rocket finally reached orbit after three failures, the valuation was $410 million. At $27M, 0.006% cost you $1,620 in equity. That same stake is worth $105M today. Employees from this era who held are the core of that 400.
After 2008 it climbed fast. $1B by 2010 and $12B by 2015. One could still reach $100M from this window, but only with a senior grant, director, or principal engineer level. Maybe 100 to 200 people.
Post-2016, the company was already worth $20 billion. Hitting $100M from that point needed a grant worth over $1 million upon joining. This cohort becomes millionaires, though, so not bad.
- 400 to 500 people at $100M+
- A few dozen above $500M
- A handful of billionaires beyond Musk
- 3,500 people who become millionaires
The gap is not about contribution. It is about when you showed up.
Indian startups need to get this right. The employee who joined Zepto in 2021 when it was nothing and the one who joined last year at a $5 billion valuation are not going to see the same outcome, even if they are sitting in the same room doing the same job.