Any new Google members/owners? | FerrariChat

Any new Google members/owners?

Discussion in 'California & Nevada (Northern)' started by xs10shl, Oct 28, 2005.

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  1. xs10shl

    xs10shl Formula 3

    Dec 17, 2003
    2,037
    San Francisco
    I was surmising with a fellow owner about the impact of Google on demand for Ferraris locally. The numbers I've seen from last January indicate that Google has created at least 1000 paper Millionaires, and I think at $355 a share, that's probably a conservative number (see math below). And they're pretty much all living in the Bay Area.

    I think that in the coming year we'll start seeing more former and current Google employees on the board, and hopefully more Ferraris! They're all welcome, of course!


    Just for kicks, here's the math:

    To make $1,000,000, you'd need to be able to have, say, $1,700,000 worth in exercised options. Assume the strike price of these options is $50, you'd need about 5600 exercisable shares to make $1,000,000 at today's price. That corresponds with a 10,000 option, 2003 pre-IPO grant at $50/share.

    My guess is there are 750 people at Google who have at least 20,000 share grants at $15 or less, making them worth, conservatively, $6,800,000 pre-tax.

    There are probably 100 or so who have crossed into the $25,000,000+ range. Wow! Dot-com is back, baby!
     
  2. bobafett

    bobafett F1 Veteran

    Sep 28, 2002
    9,193
    Just look at how it's affected the RE market. Stories of Khordestani aside, there really is a mini bubble being attributed to GOOG on certain segments (atherton - particularly lindenwood surprisingly), LA hills, etc.

    Of course we all know that GOOG will come to pass. It must. Really. Hopefully soon. :D

    --Dan
     
  3. lukek

    lukek Formula 3
    Rossa Subscribed

    May 2, 2003
    2,070
    San Francisco
    Full Name:
    LK
    I remember wandering about en employee who left a company for Google. She joined up AFTER the crazy google IPO. What I forgot was that she was a single, attractive, and available female. She is laughing now (provided there was no pre-nup)
     
  4. Marshall

    Marshall Karting

    Oct 7, 2005
    105
    Tahoe
    I told a friend that it was a bad idea to join Google when he showed me his kinko'd biz card... he was one of the first 10 employees... lesson learned? I'm a big idiot. :) I'm stoked for him!
     
  5. xs10shl

    xs10shl Formula 3

    Dec 17, 2003
    2,037
    San Francisco
    Google now at $378, so that's a few more millionaires.

    I realized my previous calculations were off, because it appears that many (all?) employees were offered stock subject to repurchase instead of options, which carries a more favorable tax treatment. Ergo, there are, say, 15% more millionaires under the new system.
     
  6. lukek

    lukek Formula 3
    Rossa Subscribed

    May 2, 2003
    2,070
    San Francisco
    Full Name:
    LK
    I know where to park the next exotic I decide to sell. Perhaps one of them can take it off my hands on the way to lunch.

     
  7. GTB4NART

    GTB4NART Formula Junior

    Jan 17, 2004
    421
    There is a secret code at GOOG called the "8FN" club or the eight figure net club. I know a couple of members that are in the process of buying art and the like. I don't know how many of them are into exotic cars but the corporate attitude at GOOG is to downplay the wealth card and buy a Prius. Pretty funny that the founders, Larry and Sergey, both own the Prius and then fly around in their Boeing 767 jet using more fuel in one trip than I will use in an entire lifetime in a Ferrari! Oh well, image truly is everything. One more interesting note, the toys suddenly somehow become quite meaningless when you can just use "walkin' around money" to pay for them.


     
  8. lukek

    lukek Formula 3
    Rossa Subscribed

    May 2, 2003
    2,070
    San Francisco
    Full Name:
    LK
    I was not even in my Ferrari, but I was accosted by a Prius driving crazy from Berkeley while fueling my Maserati. She told me I was killing the environment and the children of the third world with my sports car...Mind you, this was completely unprovoked. I was going to tell her that I drive 3 miles to work and 3 miles back, and that her battery disposal will cause issues.....but I just told her that I agreed with her world view....and that I stole the Maserati. You should have seen her face!

     
  9. xs10shl

    xs10shl Formula 3

    Dec 17, 2003
    2,037
    San Francisco
    I actually think this is more a function of current personality, interests, and experience, and financial freedom will slowly but surely cause all three to change. They'll grow out of it - or into it, as it may be! Can't wait to have a few of them aboard!

    They will be here - OH, YES! - they will be here. LOL!

     
  10. xs10shl

    xs10shl Formula 3

    Dec 17, 2003
    2,037
    San Francisco
    LOL, Luke - that's a classic!
     
  11. ls1z51

    ls1z51 Rookie

    Feb 16, 2004
    15
    My wife has worked for Google for over 3 years and I know loads of people there. She is not an 8FN member, but it did help us buy our first home and will provide a nice nest egg, college fund for kids, etc. She won't let me buy a Ferrari but a C6 Z51 was allowed.

    Anyhow, lots of misconceptions here in this thread.

    - First off, the whole buyback thing would have paid people pennies on the dollar for their options. I don't know of any takers.
    - Google set up the system so all anyone pays in taxes is about 15% Fed and 5% state, so net for just about everyone is 80%.
    - Most people who are millionaires likely are engineers who got in the first five years, got 10K+ options and had strike prices under a buck. There were a lot of them. Even folks in normal positions who've been there 4-6 years are prob cracking over a mill.
     
  12. Perfusion

    Perfusion F1 Rookie

    Oct 16, 2004
    4,151
    Marietta, GA
    Full Name:
    Aaron
    Shouldn't your screen name be ls2z51, then? ;)
     
  13. xs10shl

    xs10shl Formula 3

    Dec 17, 2003
    2,037
    San Francisco
    Good info, thanks for sharing. The way GOOG is going, you'll have that Ferrari in no time!

    This is interesting - I wonder how they are getting around AMT? Are you in California? If so, I wonder who is paying the additional 5% owed the state - I doubt the CA FTB would allow that to be left on the table. It'd be worth it to take a job there for a month just to get a copy of the "option-ish" agreement.
     
  14. ls1z51

    ls1z51 Rookie

    Feb 16, 2004
    15
    Ya, I had an 01 C5 before this, but just didn't feel like changing.

    As for the tax stuff, I really don't know much about it. I don't work there so I don't pay that much attention to the details. All I know is what our financial planner/tax guy told us after he'd read all the garbage. We sold a little bit of stock last year, so it has affected our returns already. It's basically set up to avoid short-term capital gains is my understanding.

    One thing I can tell you is that the parties used to be better. Right after she started working there, I went to a summer party, complete with Guinness on tap, ice sculptures everywhere, tons of amazing food, etc. It was crazy. Last year's Christmas party they had cheap beer (bad) and cheap wine (even worse). I was appalled. Must be a public company thing. The bean-counters got hold of the alcohol receipts.

    It's kinda cool that all the billionaires just mingle with the rest of the poor people at these things. Last year Larry walked by (always wears a Santa hat) and said hello and I stood next to Sergei and his woman while they messed around on this fake surfboard contraption they had set up there (think "riding the bull" at a bar). They're just very typical programmer types who are exceedingly wealthy and powerful since this thing took hold. Very unassuming still.

    It's a cool company, but I don't see my wife much on week days.
     

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