12.09.2025 17:21
Swedish fintech giant Klarna made a big splash with its IPO on the New York Stock Exchange. The company's shares saw an increase of up to 43% on their first trading day, while dozens of employees reached million-dollar fortunes. Founders and top executives accessed portfolios worth hundreds of millions of dollars, and Klarna's success added another strong example to the trend of 'employee-rich companies' in the industry.
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Sweden-based financial technology company Klarna made a significant debut this week by starting to trade on the New York Stock Exchange. The IPO process has turned not only investors and founders but also dozens of company employees into millionaires.
BIG RISE ON THE FIRST DAY
Klarna, which was offered at a price of $40 per share in the IPO, faced intense interest from investors on its first trading day. Shares climbed to $52 during the day, with an increase of up to 43%, and closed at $45.82. With this rise, Klarna's market value reached approximately $17 billion. A total of $1.37 billion was raised during the IPO process.
EMPLOYEES BECAME WEALTHY
The company's successful stock performance also rewarded the stock options offered to employees. At least 37 current and former employees of Klarna reached million-dollar fortunes thanks to the shares they held. According to an analysis by technology-focused publication Sifted, these individuals made significant gains through the stock options they acquired over the years.
FOUNDERS AND EXECUTIVES ALSO MADE SIGNIFICANT GAINS
The company's founding CEO, Sebastian Siemiatkowski, became the owner of a fortune worth approximately $920 million with his 25.6 million shares. Another co-founder, Victor Jacobsson, who left Klarna in 2012, holds 31.4 million shares, and the current value of this portfolio is approximately $1.1 billion. It is reported that Jacobsson plans to sell 2.5% of his shares.
Top executives also gained significantly from the IPO. Product and Design Director David Fock's more than 600,000 shares are worth approximately $21.6 million, while Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Niclas Neglén has 280,000 shares worth $10 million, and Marketing Director David Sandström has reached a fortune of $10.4 million with 290,000 shares.
HAD CREATED MILLIONAIRES BEFORE
In fact, this is not the first IPO that has turned Klarna's employees into millionaires. During the period when the company reached a valuation of $45.6 billion in 2021, about 75 employees became seven-figure wealthy. At that time, some employees who owned only 0.0022% of the company's shares even earned over a million dollars.
SIMILAR SUCCESSES IN TECHNOLOGY COMPANIES
Klarna's success parallels similar examples in the tech world. For instance, Nvidia has increased its stock value by more than 3,000% since 2019, making a large portion of its 36,000 employees millionaires. Australia-based Canva offered its employees the opportunity to buy shares with a valuation of $42 billion last year. Companies like Palantir and OpenAI are also among those that have made their employees wealthy through high bonuses and stock options.
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