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Tech companies’ stock prices have encountered Waterloo, and the rich dream may be broken.

Shenzhen Translation Bureau is its compilation team, focusing on technology, business, workplace, life and other fields, focusing on introducing new foreign technologies, new perspectives and new trends.

Editor’s note: From 2017 to 2018, technology companies in the San Francisco area went public. Confident tech workers thought that they would soon realize the dream of a rich man, but they were shattered by the frequent decline in stock prices in 2019. There are many luxurious buildings, but no one cares about it. After the listing, the promise of becoming a partner has become pale. The original real estate industry that was expected to flourish suddenly burst. This article was translated from an article in the New York Times entitled “Where Are the Tech Zillionaires? San Francisco Faces the I.P.O. Fizzle” by Nellie Bowles and Kate Conger.

Filippo Fontana

Those tech companies that expect to become super rich after going public have only given employees a little bit of money.

Seven months ago, the Four Seasons Hotel in San Francisco issued a news announcement announcing the upcoming good news: some new homes must be built in order to attract investment.

Construction workers hoist glass and steel into a 43-story tower, and those who live there will have their own staff wine concierge. The whole house is decorated with blue Savoy French marble and has a Poggenpohl in Germany. Frosted cabinets and assembly facilities at Dornbracht. The $ 49 million penthouse will be the most expensive “hanging garden” in San Francisco.

“Just in time to catch up with the upcoming batch of millionaires from San Francisco-listed companies, Four Seasons Hotel promises to” upgrade the sales experience “to cater for” such new buyers. “

However, the subsequent wave of IPOs by technology companies (which should have created San Francisco’s emerging super-rich) has gradually disappeared. Since its listing in May, ride-hailing giant Uber’s shares have fallen by nearly 30%, while Lyft’s shares have fallen by almost 40%. Pinterest and Slack also declined during the same period.

San Francisco is still a very common place for tech workers. These tech workers are indeed getting rich and may have made hundreds of thousands of dollars. But for a city with a median single-family home cost of about $ 1.6 million, it’s not something to advertise.

“After listing, everyone seems to be no different from before listing. I haven’t seen anyone put a Louis Vuitton case on their Apple computer, nor have they seen champagne in their Yeti thermos.” Forbus said he is a tax manager at San Francisco’s Bogdan & Frasco.

Private wealth management companies now face a group of disciplined clients. Developers lower house prices (almost unheard of a year ago); parties secretly hosted by rich people to enjoy their wealth in private, party planners have to sign confidentiality agreements with them; union organizers are looking for opportunities .

Everyone was super excited before. Who can bear to blame them? After all, how accessible this money used to be. We look back at a time when a startup that gathered dog walkers pulled in $ 300 million in investment; the valuation of the already huge online car rider almost doubled. ; WeWork, a startup for commercial real estate management, has almost no real estate of its own, but its valuation has reached 47 billion U.S. dollars.

Tall buildings in the city

San Francisco’s stylish Four Seasons tower is expected to be completed in 2020. Ian C. Bates for The New York Times

The towering buildings in San Francisco have found a place for profligate money. Polished marble, warm bathroom floors, and private pools being filled.

“The world has changed in a year,” said Herman Chen, a real estate agent at Sotheby’s International. “We expected the stock market to rise at least, but actually fell. It’s discouraging. These companies haven’t died, but the spirit of the time, that is, the momentum of competing to go public, has disappeared. You can’t even hear anyone talking about it.

Developers build glass houses in the airHe has fought against regulations and regional planning, setting the house’s opening date to the day of the company’s initial public offering. But during a recent visit to the sales team at Four Seasons, they acknowledged that they are not seeing tech tycoons now interested in houses, but buyers from overseas, young heirs of foreign wealth, and those looking for temporary apartments near London. Older executives.

At the time, there were some more luxurious high-rise buildings, such as The Avery, The Harrison, 181 Fremont, and The Mirat Mira).

“The definition of luxury is in terms of its scarcity, but now that there are so many high-rise buildings, it no longer has the characteristics of luxury.” Mr. Chen continued, “Now, my buyers are gradually With the emergency period and some security inspectors, these are things that have never been requested before. Now there are no more ten buyers competing to bid for a house. “

For example, in Pacific Heights, San Francisco’s most exclusive neighborhood, a full-floor apartment is priced at $ 21.6 million, and the ad says: “A wine cellar worth your sommelier has you The most treasured 1,500 bottles of wine. “But after more than a year, it has not been sold after the price has been reduced by $ 5 million.

From 2017 to 2018, the highest-priced 5% homes in the San Francisco area, the best part of them, saw their prices increase by 7%. However, since 2019, data from real estate service website Zillow for the New York Times shows that the price of these properties has fallen by more than 1%.

This uneasiness has spread south to Silicon Valley. A listing of a $ 10.8 million home in Portola Valley, California was cut to $ 5.7 million. According to data provided by Zillow, the median sale price of a property near San Jose, California, fell by 10% within a year to less than $ 1 million.

Before the tech company went public, Deniz Kahramaner was a data analyst at Compass, a real estate agency. They gathered in a room full of real estate agents and investors, talking about the coming billowing. financial resources. He looked at the chart and had good expectations, estimating that thousands of new millionaires would raise the average price of a single-family home in San Francisco to more than $ 5 million.

But now he is silent. “The monetization after listing has not been as successful as I originally mentioned in the report,” he said.

Cara Mana is still hopeful that it may be a little too early, saying, “People need more time.”

Wealth and unions

Those who think they will upgrade to wearing luxury products like Berluti will eventually have to choose Allbirds, which is more cost-effective. Jeenah Moon for The New York Times

The tech giants are no longer investing in yachts and are switching to more general projects, such as college savings plans.

“Putting many people back to reality this year,” said private wealth adviser Ryan S. Cole, “It’s boring to have a lot of people investing 529 projects in their children.”

But some private wealth management companies say they are actually a bit relieved.

“In the end, unless the money in hand is cashed, they are all fake.” Jonathan DeYoe, a personal wealth consultant, went on to say, “Some of my clients are disappointed with Uber and Lyft. The house is not as good as it used to be, and the children ’s school environment is different. But in general, most of them are in some good places, and no one is in poverty. “

Thus, those who think they will upgrade to wearing a luxury product like Berluti will eventually have to choose Allbirds (both footwear brands) which are more cost-effective.

Some ordinary tech employees realize that they may not make a fortune from company stocks, but labor organizers say the attractiveness of working long hours without corresponding real wages is gradually disappearing. They’ve found momentum this year in a long-standing union boycott.

Paul Thurston said, “The motivation to motivate you is to hope that you will get some kind of tangible returns in the future.” He is the organization director of the International Federation of Professional and Technical Engineers, and is mainly responsible for organizing San Francisco Matters related to the technical staff union.

Now, “engineers, application designers, and developers are treated more as ordinary employees, but the company didn’t say that before going public, when the company promised that they would become partners in the future.” Said.

Jonathan Wright, head of the California Engineering and Scientists Organization, said he is negotiating with employees of several large tech companies to form a union.

“Someone said: work 100 hours a week, at workSleep under the table, and if you work so hard, you will get Bezos’ wealth, “White said.” This myth has disappeared for many years, and the days of unicorns are over. “

Rich people in Silicon Valley are asking their parties not to be recorded by social media. Justin Kaneps for The New York Times

Veteran technology companies such as Apple and Alphabet are the companies that have gained new wealth after listing. Their stock prices have risen sharply this year, and some of their wealth has indeed been obtained after listing. Although Uber’s share price has fallen, according to documents submitted to the securities regulator, the company’s co-founder Travis Kalanick has sold more than $ 2 billion in stock.

“Especially for companies like Uber, almost all of their post-IPO wealth goes to individuals,” said Kalena Masching, a Redfin agent in San Jose. Buy a standard house here. “

But there is a bright spot: women-led companies, according to Aileen Lee, have more unicorns in 2019 than in any previous year. (Li is a venture capitalist who coined the term “unicorn” in the financial world, which refers to private companies with a valuation of more than $ 1 billion)

Customers’ gatherings are going on secretly after the listing. During this time, mobile phones are not allowed.

Jay Siegan, who curates party entertainment for tech company bosses, said: “We are busy signing more non-disclosure agreements.” A year ago, people would use social networks at parties Connect and tag on Instagram. Now we have customers requesting that they do not bring mobile phones while entering, and some use their Yondr bags to pack the phones. “

Yondr is a bag that is used to seal mobile phones at concerts and group events in case they may not help but want to record a video.

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