Spanx founder Sara Blakely is celebrating her billion-dollar deal by gifting her employees two first-class plane tickets to any destination of their choosing.
Blakely, 50, surprised employees with the generous offering while announcing that she sold the company for $1.2 billion in a partnership with the investment management company Blackstone.
“This is a very big moment for each and every one of you,” she said in a video posted on her Instagram account Thursday. “To celebrate this moment, I have bought each one of you two first-class tickets to anywhere in the world.”
In addition to the tickets, employees were given $10,000 to spend on their trip.
Some of the employees said they would be traveling to South Africa and Antarctica. One person said he was going to elope with his girlfriend in Sweden, while another said she was going to honeymoon in Bora Bora.
“I really want every employee to celebrate this moment in their own way and create a memory that will last them a lifetime! Cheers to 21 years of magic and many more to come,” Blakely wrote in an Instagram post.
Blackstone purchased a majority of the shapewear empire, but Blakely will remain a “significant shareholder,” she said in a separate Instagram post on Wednesday. The mother of four created the company 21 years ago.
“With all my heart I love this brand. With all my heart I will continue to love this brand,” she said. “I will remain a significant shareholder and continue to help the business fulfill its greatest potential, as well as continue to fulfill my greatest passion – elevating women.”