Full Breakdown
SpaceX IPO Windfall Fuels Couple’s $25,000-a-Month Year of Travel
By Drooid · · How we work
The “Year of Freak”: $25,000 Monthly Travel Plan
Brian Aggrey and Phoebe Novack have set a $25,000 monthly budget for a twelve-month “Year of Freak,” beginning now and scheduled to end on July 31 2027. The plan funds worldwide travel, artistic pursuits and assorted hobbies, with the couple allocating the funds after selling a portion of their SpaceX shares while retaining the majority in the market.
How the SpaceX IPO Created New Millionaires
SpaceX’s record-breaking IPO opened at $150 a share in June 2026, briefly making Elon Musk the world’s first trillionaire and turning a cohort of long-term employees into overnight millionaires. An analysis by Hill.com estimated that more than 4,400 current and former SpaceX workers will become millionaires, with roughly 400 employees projected to earn $100 million or more. Aggrey, who spent 14 years at SpaceX working on electronics, software and Falcon 9 mechanics, accumulated a sizable stock allocation through his initial signing grant and annual performance bonuses.
The Couple’s Background and Current Activities
Aggrey met Novack at Washington University in St. Louis; she later served as a senior manager at Impossible Foods. After leaving their respective jobs, the pair moved to Fontainebleau, France. Novack is enrolled in the Fontainebleau School of Acting (Fonact), attending 35 hours of classes per week. Aggrey spends his days biking to nearby towns, visiting museums, cafés and reading French novels. He also plans to collaborate with sculptor Brian Thoreen in Mexico City on a water-crisis project and to take courses in landscape design, visual arts and film production.
Travel Highlights and Upcoming Destinations
Since July, the duo has visited Milan for the Italian Grand Prix, explored the French countryside, paraglided in Chamonix-Mont-Blanc, and toured Paris. A last-minute trip to Valencia, Spain, allowed Aggrey to photograph a total solar eclipse. Upcoming stops include Mexico City this fall, followed by a winter return to California for skiing and surfing.
Verbatim Quotes
- “We’re in this position because of how well SpaceX stock did. We had no idea, while we were going through it, accumulating stock, whether it was ever going to be worth anything,” — Grand Prix. Brian Aggrey
