While Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, became the world’s first trillionaire, Juan Hernandez, a welder of the giant space company, became a millionaire thanks to the same company.
The life of former employee Juan Hernandez, who joined the company as a welding master about 10 years ago, changed radically.
Stating that he had not even heard of SpaceX when he first joined the company, Hernandez became the owner of a fortune of 1 million 46 thousand 175 dollars as of Friday, thanks to the approximately 6 thousand 500 SpaceX shares he holds.
He Couldn’t Predict the Value of Shares When He Started Working. Juan Hernandez, who gave an exclusive interview to CBS News reporter Jo Ling Kent, stated that his career at SpaceX started with the advice of a friend.
Stating that he was offered company shares worth 10 thousand dollars when he was hired in 2015, Hernandez stated that he did not attach much importance to this offer at first because he had not been given any shares in other jobs where he worked on an hourly wage until that period.
Stating that he could not have predicted that the company would grow this much, Hernandez stated that during his 10-year tenure at SpaceX, he built the infrastructure elements and launch pad structures that prepared the rockets for launch, and over time, he rose to the position of chief.
Hernandez continues to work as a welder at Blue Origin, the rocket startup currently owned by Jeff Bezos.
HE CAME AS A MIGRANT WORKER, HIS LIFE CHANGED
Giving Shares to Employees Increases Success. Arguing that companies giving shares to their employees increases the sense of belonging and success, Hernandez said that employees will perform much better when they feel like partners of the company.
Stating that he maintained his modesty despite this great financial change he experienced, Hernandez, who is of immigrant origin, emphasized that he has been accustomed to working hard since his childhood and that this wealth will not affect his determination to work.
Stating that he passed on the investment experience he gained thanks to SpaceX shares to his three children, Hernandez added that his 16-year-old daughter has already turned into a small entrepreneur who owns shares in Meta and several different companies.
The former employee also thanked the company’s founder, Elon Musk, and stated that Musk made the lives of ordinary people, such as cooks or electricians, more meaningful and allowed them to realize their dreams that they never knew they had.
