"30 Billion Won Windfall" SpaceX Employees Get 'Wealth Tutoring' Ahead of IPO

[Financial News] As SpaceX employees suddenly acquire massive assets ahead of its initial public offering (IPO), they are seeking out experts to learn asset management and tax-saving strategies. Similar concerns appear to be spreading among employees of artificial intelligence (AI) companies preparing for listing, such as OpenAI and Antropic.
The Wall Street Journal (WSJ) reported on the 9th (local time) that executives and employees of unlisted unicorn companies, including SpaceX, OpenAI, and Antropic, are consulting with asset managers regarding the timing of stock sales and tax issues ahead of their listings.
78 trillion (about 2,715 trillion won). As a result, a significant number of employees have come to hold stocks worth billions to tens of billions of won.
Former employee Mr. 6 billion won) worth of SpaceX stock based on the IPO price, also recently consulted with an asset management expert.
Although the experts advised him to sell some of his shares to diversify risk, he reportedly hesitated to sell due to the expectation that "SpaceX could grow even bigger in the future. " Immediately after the listing, the most common question employees ask is simple: "Should I sell now, or should I wait longer?" Tara Shulman, an asset manager at Compound Planning, emphasizes the principle of diversification to her clients.
She advised, "It is important not to react emotionally to stock price movements after the listing," adding, "It is better to establish your own standards rather than trying to hit the peak. " Diogo Monica, a venture investor and co-founder of the virtual asset bank Anchorage Digital, also shared his own principles.
The strategy is to first sell 20% of the holdings when an invested company goes public, then dispose of an additional 60%, and hold the remaining 20% ​​for the long term. This means that a balance must be struck between greed and risk management, as there is a risk of a sharp decline contrary to the expectation that the stock price could skyrocket after an IPO.
A more complex issue than selling stocks is taxes.
Employees at SpaceX, OpenAI, and Antropic receive various forms of stock compensation, including Non-Qualified Stock Options (NSO), Incentive Stock Options (ISO), Restricted Stock Units (RSU), and Employee Stock Purchase Programs (ESPP). The problem is that the tax calculation method differs for each type of stock compensation.
Selling an excessive amount of stocks or exercising a large volume of stock options in a single year can lead to higher tax rates. In particular, for incentive stock options, exercising them incorrectly can result in a much higher tax burden than expected, so a strategy of exercising them over several years is recommended.
"There are even cases where people take out loans to pay taxes," explained financial planner Giovanni Tissot.
"Since taxes must still be paid even if the stock price falls after the IPO, careful planning is necessary.
" With the AI ​​boom and the successive listings of mega-tech companies such as SpaceX, OpenAI, and Antropic, a large number of new "IPO millionaires" are expected to emerge in Silicon Valley.
km@fnnews.com Kim Kyung-min Reporter