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The rise of graffiti artist David Choe to multimillionaire is nothing short of phenomenal. Since he is a muralist who paints bold and colorful works, Choe started his career as a street artist, spray-painting bridges and public areas. But it was an opportunity more than ten years ago that altered his life forever.
When Facebook was still a fledgling startup, Choe was hired to paint murals at their first headquarters. Instead of taking a traditional cash payment, Choe agreed to be compensated in company stock. At the time, he admitted he wasn’t particularly enthusiastic about the social media platform, but the unconventional payment would later prove to be one of the best decisions of his life.
As Facebook grew into a global tech giant, so did the value of Choe’s stock. In 2020, his stake in the company had risen significantly to contribute to his estimated net worth of $300.0 million. Such a fantastic fortune not only consolidated his position among the richest artists in the world but also made him one of the prominent figures in the art and business worlds.
But despite his financial success, Choe has remained an artist at his core. He continues to wow audiences with his murals, fine art, and multimedia works. The story of David Choe is just one example of how art, opportunity, and entrepreneurship can combine in completely unpredictable ways, showing that following one’s creative passion can sometimes lead to remarkable success.
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David Choe Self-Published His First Graphic Novel
David Choe was born on April 21, 1976 in Los Angeles, California. He is a first-generation American born to Korean immigrants. A street artist since he was a teen, he briefly attended the California College of the Arts.
Choe self-published a graphic novel, Slow Jam, and distributed 200 copies at Comic-Con in 1996. He went on to win $5,000 from the Xeric Grant, leading him to publish an expanded edition of Slow Jam in 1999 with a cover price of $4.
Choe has come a long way since then. He has made an autobiographical documentary, Dirty Hands: The Art and Crimes of David Choe (2008) an online series, Thumbs Up!, a podcast, and artwork that sells at anywhere between $1,700 and $50,000 at auctions.
David Choe’s Stock in Facebook Is Worth Millions
Choe has had some huge fans of his work, including former Facebook president Sean Parker, who had followed Choe’s work since the early ‘00s. So, when Parker became the president of Facebook, he commissioned Choe to jazz up Facebook’s first headquarters in Silicon Valley.
Back then, Choe had been cynical about social media and its early iterations, like MySpace. He nonetheless agreed to the job for an asking price of $60,000.
“My prices had been going higher and higher and I was like, ‘Yeah, I mean, if you want me to paint the entire building, it’s going to be 60, you know, 60 grand,’” the artist recalled telling Parker. Parker, however, made an unconventional offer. He asked Choe to accept payment in stock of the then-fledgling start-up.
Choe didn’t have much faith in the growth of Facebook, but took the risk and accepted the stock. But the artist probably didn’t forsee that Facebook would turn into such a social media titan and his stock holdings would grow so rapidly.
At the time of Facebook’s IPO in 2012, its value was $38 a share. The value of Choe’s total stock in Facebook was estimated at $200.0 million, making him a multimillionaire overnight.
Today his holdings could be valued between $300.0 million and $500.0 million. Despite his scepticism, David Choe is among the richest artists in the world. He sold some of the stock in recent years, but it reportedly hasn’t put a dent in his fortune.
Choe’s Facebook murals are still in existence. He revealed that the walls were removed and parts of the murals were shipped to every Facebook office in the world, so the original artwork is everywhere.
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David Choe’s Philanthropic Work
Since he became an instant millionaire, David Choe has been using his money in various ways. For instance, when he found $100,000 in a shoebox in his room by chance, he gave it away through a nationwide scavenger hunt. The winner also got a flight to L.A. to receive the prize money and a custom painting from Choe.
Since 2008, Choe has donated his art to organizations that raise money for various causes. Among the organizations he collaborates with, there is Wyclef Jean’s Yle Haiti, The LIDÈ Haiti Foundation, and A Place Called Home, a nonprofit youth organization in South Central L.A.
Choe most recently was a guest on Joe Rogan’s podcast, where he revealed he has been supporting the Meleka Foundation, an organization that gives aid to the ethnic Hadza tribe in Tanzania.