The historic IPO of SpaceX made Juan Hernández, a Mexican welder who joined Elon Musk's company in 2015 and received shares as part of his compensation, a millionaire. Ten years later, those shares, which initially seemed like just an additional benefit, became worth a fortune, once again demonstrating that capitalism rewards work, saving, and investment.
Hernández joined SpaceX on the recommendation of a friend. As he told CBS News, at that time he didn't even know what the aerospace company founded by Musk did, but he accepted the challenge and began working as a welder in the manufacturing of key structures for the launch systems.
José Hernández with his family
For a decade, the Latino worker was employed at the company's assembly plant and managed to rise to the position of supervisor. At the time of his hiring, SpaceX offered him a stock package valued at approximately $10,000. Hernández acknowledged that at first he did not grasp the importance of that benefit, as he had no investment experience and could not imagine the growth the company would achieve.
The bet ended up changing his life. According to CBS News, the former welder retains around 6,500 shares of SpaceX. With an initial price of $135 per share, that package was already worth about $880,000. But after the stock market debut, the share closed around $160.95 and reached an intraday high of $176.45, meaning his holdings exceeded one million dollars during the trading day.
This was not a subsidy, a state plan, or a political promise: it was the direct consequence of working at an innovative company, holding onto his shares, and supporting the growth of a company that revolutionized the aerospace industry.
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Hernández himself defended this model and stated that giving shares to employees improves performance because each worker understands that they also own a part of the company. In other words, when the company grows, it’s not just the founders or large investors who benefit.
Currently, Hernández continues his career at Blue Origin, the aerospace company of Jeff Bezos. Despite his new financial situation, he stated that he does not plan to abandon his work routine and seeks to pass on to his children what he learned about investing. He even mentioned that his teenage daughter already owns shares in companies like Meta.
