Earlier than Juan Hernandez turned a welder at SpaceX, he had by no means heard of the corporate.
“It was simply one other contract job for me on the time,” he instructed CBS Information correspondent Jo Ling Kent in a broadcast unique interview.
Now, simply over 10 years later, that leap of religion is paying off following the corporate’s $75 billion preliminary public providing. Hernandez, who now works at Jeff Bezos-owned rocket startup Blue Origin, has roughly 6,500 SpaceX shares. On Friday, SpaceX inventory closed at $160.95, valuing his holdings at $1,046,175.
SpaceX shares began buying and selling on the Nasdaq late Friday morning underneath the ticker image SPCX, marking the long-awaited Wall Avenue debut of the rocket and satellite tv for pc firm. The inventory providing additionally turned SpaceX founder Elon Musk into the world’s first trillionaire.
Juan Hernandez, who began at SpaceX in 2015, labored on the rocket and satellite tv for pc firm for a decade. / Credit score: Courtesy of Juan Hernandez
Hernandez first heard about SpaceX from a good friend who was employed as a welder there. He knew Hernandez’s background and figured he’d be an excellent match for the job.
“I assumed in my head, I do not know what SpaceX is, however let’s go,” Hernandez stated.
When SpaceX employed Hernandez in 2015, he stated they supplied him $10,000 price of inventory. On the time, he did not assume a lot of it. His different jobs, which paid him hourly, had by no means supplied him inventory earlier than.
“It wasn’t an enormous deal. I did not know something about it then,” he instructed CBS Information. “I did not understand it was gonna be this huge, at this level.”
Rising by means of the ranks
Throughout his 10-year run at SpaceX, Hernandez labored as a welder, making ready rockets for takeoff by constructing the buildings that lifted them onto the launch pad and the infrastructure that held them in place. He finally rose by means of the ranks to turn into a supervisor.
He stated providing workers a stake within the firm helps them really feel they’ve pores and skin within the sport and pushes them to succeed.
“They may carry out so much higher as a result of, I imply, it’s, it is their firm as nicely,” he stated.
Even by means of the life-changing occasion, he is staying humble. As a U.S. immigrant, Hernandez stated he was taught to work exhausting, one thing his newfound wealth will not get in the best way of. He stated he plans to maintain working and cross on the teachings he is discovered to his youngsters.
He is now educating his three youngsters, together with his 16-year-old daughter, methods to make investments based mostly on what he discovered proudly owning SpaceX inventory. His daughter is already a stakeholder in Meta and a handful of different firms.
“She’s somewhat entrepreneur herself,” he stated.
If given the possibility to speak to Musk, Hernandez stated he’d thank him for serving to him notice a dream he did not know he had.
“He made it a risk for any individual like us, , the cook dinner or … electrician,” he stated. “He is making all these lives significantly better and significant for his or her households as nicely.”