Early SpaceX Equity Helped Josh Giegel Fund $15 Million Startup and Buy a Los Angeles Home
Updated
Updated · Business Insider · Jun 14
Early SpaceX Equity Helped Josh Giegel Fund $15 Million Startup and Buy a Los Angeles Home
2 articles · Updated · Business Insider · Jun 14
Summary
Josh Giegel, 41, said equity from joining SpaceX at 23 let him make a Los Angeles home down payment, pay off his wife's student loans and spend more freely on family travel.
Regular buybacks over the past 10 years turned what HR once framed as a possible $250,000-$300,000 payout into a meaningful windfall, even though early employees joked space was a bad place to get rich.
That cushion now helps Giegel run AI startup Gambit on a lower salary; the company has raised about $15 million and is preparing for additional funding rounds.
Giegel said SpaceX's wealth creation is also feeding a founder-investor network, with former colleagues able to write roughly $1 million to $2 million checks into each other's startups.