From rags to riches: My journey as an early employee at PayPal and the fortune I made

7 Mar 2024 · 0 min

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YouTube interview excerpt (Charles Cormier) in which two speakers discuss employee stock at PayPal. One speaker recalls PayPal's 2002 IPO (~$1.5 billion valuation) and contrasts it with a present-day valuation of roughly $70–75 billion, noting they held onto their shares rather than selling at the IPO and benefited from the subsequent run-up.

Questions this video answers

2002

About $1.5 billion

About $70–75 billion

No — the speaker said they held their shares and did not sell at the IPO.

Both. Company gave you stocks that must have turned out pretty good for you over the years.
Yeah, PayPal. They did. PayPal in 2002, went public, I think, at a $1.5 billion valuation. And today, they're worth, I don't know, 70, 75 billion. So the good news for those employees was they, you know, luckily I held my shares and didn't sell them at the ipo, because I, you know, I was working there, so I wanted to have part of that ride.