Spanx’s CEO surprises all employees with two first-class plane tickets, $10,000 cash

Spanx’s CEO and founder gave all employees two first-class tickets to travel anywhere in the world for $10,000. To celebrate the company’s $1.2 billion valuations, Sara Blakely, Spanx’s founder, decides to share the success with her entire team.

Nearly 500+ staff were given two first-class flight tickets to travel anywhere in the world and $10,000 to spend on their trips. Blackstone, an investment management company, purchased a majority stake, and the company decided to share its wealth with the team. Sara Blakely, 50, posted the moment on social media where she announced the gifts to her employees with a party.

Last week at a party, Blakely stood in front of a room decorated with balloons with champagne and said, ‘When I started the company in Virginia Highlands on a whiteboard in my room, I wrote a goal down. And I said this company will one day be worth $10 million,’ she said with a pause as she got choked up. ‘And everybody laughed at me.’ She thanked her employees for their hard work, which paved the way for the company’s success.

The video is now going viral on social media in which some of the staff members cried, and some were awestruck. Barkley started Spanx in 2000 with just $5,000, which she made by selling fax machines door-to-door, but now it is one of the most successful brands in the world.