Former SpaceX welder becomes a millionaire after historic IPO
Before Juan Hernandez became a welder at SpaceX, he had never heard of the company.
“It was just another contract job for me at the time,” he told CBS News correspondent Jo Ling Kent in an exclusive on-air interview.
Now, just over 10 years later, that leap of faith is paying off, following the company’s policy. $75 billion initial public offering. Hernandez, who now works at Blue Origin, the rocket startup owned by Jeff Bezos, owns about 6,500 SpaceX. shares. On Friday, SpaceX shares closed at $160.95 and its holdings were valued at $1,046,175.
SpaceX shares I started trading It was listed on Nasdaq late Friday morning under the ticker symbol SPCX, marking the rocket and satellite company’s long-awaited Wall Street debut.
Hernandez first heard about SpaceX from a friend who was hired as a welder there. He knew Hernandez’s background and thought he was right for the job.
“In my head I thought, ‘I don’t know what SpaceX is, but let’s go,'” said Hernandez.
When SpaceX hired Hernandez in 2015, he said, they offered him $10,000 worth of stock. He didn’t think much about it at the time. His other hourly jobs had never offered him stock before.
“It wasn’t a big deal. I didn’t know anything about it at the time,” he told CBS News. “I didn’t know it was going to be this big at this point.”
I’m rising in the rankings
During his ten-year stint at SpaceX, Hernandez worked as a welder; It prepared the rockets for takeoff by building the structures that lifted them to the launch pad and the infrastructure that held them in place. He eventually rose through the ranks to become a supervisor.
Offering employees a stake in the company helps them feel like they have a stake in the game and pushes them to succeed, he said.
“They’re going to perform much better because, I mean, it’s also their company,” he said.
Despite the life-changing event, he remains humble.
As an immigrant, Hernandez said he was taught to work hard, something his newfound wealth won’t hinder. He said he plans to continue working and pass on the lessons he’s learned to his children.
He’s now teaching his three children, including his 16-year-old daughter, how to invest based on what he learned from owning SpaceX shares. His daughter is currently a shareholder of Meta and several other companies.
“He is also a small entrepreneur,” he said.
Hernandez said that if given the chance to talk to Musk, he would thank him for helping him realize a dream he didn’t know he had.
“He made this a possibility for someone like us, the cook or … the electrician,” he said. “It makes all these lives so much better and more meaningful for their families, too.”
