By Oliver Tree: Subscribe to Oliver's RSS feed
February 2, 2012 11:18 AM EST
At the time he thought the company was "ridiculous and pointless."
But for 35-year-old David Choe, a decision six years ago to be paid in Facebook shares rather than a few thousand dollars cash is about to land the once homeless graffiti artist a $200 million windfall.
A day after Facebook's blockbuster $5 million IPO, Choe's red-hot stock could put him among the thousand or so Facebook employees set to become overnight multi-millionaires.
According to the New York Times, in 2005 Choe was invited to paint Facebook's then corporate headquarters in Palo Alto.
After decorating the offices with his distinctive graffiti murals, Facebook president Sean Parker offered payment in cash or stock.
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Luckily for Choe, he saw past his initial misgivings about the still largely unknown company and took the latter, netting himself a future fortune.
Choe, who has been compared to world-renowned British graffiti artist Banksy, has had a career trajectory similar to that of his one time employer.
Growing up homeless in Los Angeles, he claims to have had several run-ins with the police as well as being a looter during the 1992 LA riots.
His meteoric rise through the alternative art world has seen him create notable works including an album cover for alternative rap metal band Linkin Park and a poster of President Obama--which according to the Times is thought to be hanging in the White House.
In a recent interview with Ion magazine, the controversial artist said he developed his trademark 'dirty' style because his left hand would always smudge his work as a child - also admitting to sometimes painting with his own blood.
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