Paint This Graffiti Artist a Facebook Millionaire

Graffiti artist David Choe made a wise choice when he chose stock options over payment from Facebook for his graffiti murals.

Image: David Choe

Graffiti artist David Choe reportedly didn’t think much of Facebook when he was hired to create artwork for its headquarters.

But now, based on that one decision, the San Jose, California, man stands to become very rich—to the tune of $200 million—when Facebook trades publicly later this year. Back in 2005, Sean Parker, then Facebook’s president, asked Choe to choose between “thousands of dollars” in cash or stock options in the company and the artist chose the latter, reports the New York Times.

Choe, who according to the Times said that at the time he thought the idea of Facebook was “ridiculous and pointless,” describes himself on his website as a homeless wanderer who had a rough start early on. Now, he is reportedly a successful artist with gallery shows and pieces in museums. Was his success fueled at all by selling shares on the secondary market? It's not clear.

As he explains on his blog, the news that he could become a Facebook millionaire took him by surprise, and he suggests that fate had a hand:

Have you had the dream where you ARE this guy?!? And then some kind of happy accident happens, and as you're in the middle of this glorious car crash you stop to realize that there is actually no such thing as an accident, and no chance encounters, and that everything has a direct purpose? [...] then I get up and see my picture on the cover of the New York Times and I find out that I'm the most highest paid decorator alive.