Musk’s employee stock options made them millions; Bezos’s employee options were worthless
According to a very intriguing article at Business Insider today, the stock options offered to employees at SpaceX and Blue Origin were starkly different, with SpaceX’s options making millions for its workers while Blue Origin’s were essentially worthless.
Three ex-employees of Jeff Bezos’ rocket maker Blue Origin told Business Insider that the company’s unusual approach to equity left them with stock options that are essentially worthless.
Meanwhile, they’ve watched SpaceX’s dizzying rise to a $2 trillion-plus valuation provide a massive windfall for early hires — from engineers to welders to cafeteria workers — who received stock options during their time at Elon Musk’s company.
Blue Origin’s options were written so that they only could be cashed in if the company went public within ten years. As Bezos has shown zero interest in going public — which would take away his full ownership and control of the company — those options have been steadily expiring as they reach their ten year due date.
At SpaceX however the employee stock options could always be cashed in, even before the company went public. Employees, both current and former, were allowed to sell their stock back to SpaceX or to its investors in private liquidity events that usually occurred twice each year. After the IPO they could now sell the stock on the open market, at the going rate.
The difference is possibly one additional reason the accomplishments of the two companies have been so starkly dissimilar/ SpaceX made sure its employees got a pay off for the long hours it demanded. Blue Origin did not.
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As an MBA with a concentration in Finance and Accounting, i will tell you this about the treatment of employees at BO (Was there ever a better acronym?)
BEZOS IS SCUM
Unfortunately, such practices are common.
I worked for such employers, outfits that were interested only in long hours and cheap labour. There was a reason why many of them had high turnover.
The more I look at Blue Origin, the more I question what the company actually is. Right now it seems like the socialist wonder. Lots of announcements of things no-one has seen or actually used. Maybe one day their work will catch up with their ambition but not anytime soon. Blue spends too much time on the business side and not enough time on the engineering.
SpaceX, while their employees work hard, does seem to get it. Even with what they have done so far, they can still be better with their employees.
BTW, what sadistic SOB came up with stocks options that vanish if the company doesn’t perform on target? Nuts.
Blue Origin’s stock options don’t “vanish if the company doesn’t perform on target.” They expire if after ten years after issuance the company has not gone public. There is a difference, though the effect is not much different. Essentially Bezos issued options he knew were worthless, because he never intended to go public.
SCUUUUMMMMM
That ‘let them eat cake’ * attitude is why Elizabeth Warren,, Bernie Sanders,, AOC, etc exist
* Marie Antoinette never said it, Voltaire attributed it to an unnamed “Great Princess’
I begin to think Blue Origin is just PR, and/or a vanity project.
On GUTFELD! Dr. Drew suggested to Greg that dressing down is now a type of corporate camouflage–the opposite of those vapid fools with Armani suits and a Rolex watch which screams “kick me.”
How Amazon treats its workers should tell you everything.
Where Elon is a crusader, Bezos buys Van Jones.
When one says ‘jump’ the other says ‘yowza’
Bezos’s history going back to when he was in high school is ample evidence to the contrary. Gerry O’Neill was a formative influence for him.
That is second to his infatuation with Bubbles.
Elon has gone through women–but SpaceX is his true spouse.
Nowhere near the same level of fire in the belly.
I still hold that the most pro-space American was Agnew, with Glushko the most competent space advocate.
Who is ‘Bubbles,’ and how is the billions of dollars he’s poured into Blue Origin second to her?