The artist who was hired to paint Facebook’s first office made a fortune after asking for 0.25% of the company’s shares as payment for his work.
+ After Forgetting a Bitcoin Purchase in 2011, Investor Discovers He’s a Millionaire
At the time, David Choe had two options: he could receive $60,000 upfront before completing the work, or accept 0.25% of Facebook shares once the mural inside the company’s headquarters was finished.
It was a risky decision. After all, he was turning down tens of thousands of dollars in cash for a small portion of shares in a company whose future value was uncertain.
Choe admitted he thought Facebook and other social media platforms were a “joke” with no chance of taking off, but Sean Parker, who was Facebook’s president at the time, insisted he accept the shares. Today, Choe is likely very grateful he did.
It’s unclear exactly how many stock options the 0.25% represented at the time, but during Facebook’s initial public offering (IPO) in 2012, when shares were valued at $38 each, Choe earned around $200 million.
That figure is 333,233% more than the initial $60,000 he could have taken. As soon as the company went public, Choe sold his stake in Facebook.
Today, Meta Platforms shares are priced at $719.01, according to CompaniesMarketCap, which means Choe’s 0.25% stake would now be worth $4,919,541,916.
Had he held on to the shares, Choe would be approximately the 776th richest person in the world, according to Forbes magazine.
Photo and video: Instagram @davidchoe. This content was created with the help of AI and reviewed by the editorial team.
