A couple who benefited from SpaceX's record-breaking initial public offering have left their jobs to embark on a year-long, $25,000-per-month travel itinerary. Their journey includes destinations like the French Alps for paragliding and attending the Italian Grand Prix.
Brian Aggrey, who spent 14 years at SpaceX, and his wife, Phoebe Novack, have already visited Milan and the French countryside in July, followed by Chamonix in the French Alps and Paris in September. They are planning a trip to Mexico City for the fall.
SpaceX's IPO, which opened at $150 per share, set records and briefly made Elon Musk the world's first trillionaire. The event also created a new cohort of millionaires among SpaceX employees who had accumulated company stock over time.
Aggrey, who worked on electronics, software, and the mechanics of the Falcon 9 rocket, accrued a significant SpaceX stake through his initial signing allocation and annual performance bonuses. "We’re in this position because of how well SpaceX stock did," Aggrey told the Wall Street Journal. "We had no idea, while we were going through it, accumulating stock, whether it was ever going to be worth anything. It’s a risk we decided to take, and thankfully it paid off."
The couple sold a portion of their SpaceX shares, retaining the majority, and have designated $25,000 per month for their "Year of Freak," which is scheduled to conclude on July 31, 2027. This budget is allocated for worldwide travel, artistic pursuits, and personal interests.
Novack also resigned from her position as a senior manager at Impossible Foods. The couple met in college and previously lived with roommates in Los Angeles to maximize Aggrey's investment in SpaceX stock. In 2015, a roommate provided Aggrey with $200 to cover taxes on his options and rent.
In August, the couple stayed in Fontainebleau, a town southeast of Paris. Novack attended the Fontainebleau School of Acting, while Aggrey explored nearby towns, visited museums, and read French literature. During this period, Aggrey took a spontaneous trip to Valencia, Spain, to photograph a total solar eclipse.
Future plans include Aggrey spending time in Mexico City to collaborate on a project addressing the city's water crisis with sculptor Brian Thoreen, followed by studies in landscape design, visual arts, and film production. They intend to return to California for winter activities like skiing and surfing.
Upon the conclusion of their travel year, Aggrey and Novack are considering returning to similar career fields or exploring new opportunities. Aggrey has expressed interest in improving public transit systems, drawing inspiration from European models.
Earlier this year, an analysis by Hill.com projected that the SpaceX IPO would create over 4,400 millionaires among current and former employees, with approximately 400 individuals earning $100 million or more. Aggrey, who had dreamed of working on rockets since middle school, was among the long-serving employees who departed after the IPO.