Exclusive-SpaceX president Shotwell earned $85 million last year, document shows

NEW YORK, April ⁠21 (Reuters) - SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell earned $85.8 million in total compensation last ⁠year, a company prospectus showed, placing her among the highest‑paid U.S. executives.

Shotwell, who is also chief operating officer, earned a salary of $1 million, with most of her compensation coming from stock options and awards, according to an excerpt of SpaceX's S‑1 filing.

Companies use the registrationdocument to disclose their finances and risks before ⁠going public.

Elon Musk's SpaceX has ⁠filed confidentially for a U.S. IPO, Reuters reported this month, paving the way ⁠for a potential record‑breaking listing valued at around $1.75 trillion.

Chief Financial Officer Bret Johnson earned total compensation of $9.8 million, while billionaire CEO Musk, the majority ⁠shareholder in SpaceX, paid himself a salary of $54,080, the excerpt from the prospectus showed.

SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment.

The compensation figures, ⁠which have not been previously reported, place Shotwell's pay above many other high-profile tech executives.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella earned $79 million in 2024, while Apple's Tim Cook took home $75 million, according to ⁠compensation data compiled by Equilar.

Shotwell has a net worth of $3.4 billion, according to Forbes.

Although Musk is the public face of SpaceX, 62‑year‑old Shotwell manages much of the company's day‑to‑day grind.

That involves converting Musk's futuristic vision into ⁠the practical realities of manufacturing rockets, deploying satellites and lining up commercial, government and military customers.

Shotwell joined SpaceX in 2002 as vice president of business development, becoming employee No. 7 at the then‑fledgling company.

She has been a central behind‑the‑scenes figure in building demand for SpaceX's reusable Falcon 9 rocket, ⁠as well as its Starlink satellite broadband constellation, which now generates the bulk of the company's revenue and profit.

A mechanical engineer by training, Shotwell began her career at Chrysler Motors before moving into the space industry.

(Reporting by Echo Wang; additional reporting by Chris Sanders; Writing by Joe Brock; Editing by Clarence Fernandez)