# Equity Compensation

Companies ranging from two-person startups to the [Fortune 500](https://fortune.com/fortune500/) have found that granting partial ownership in a company is among the best methods to attract and retain exceptional talent. In the United States, partial ownership through [stock options](https://www.holloway.com/g/equity-compensation/sections/stock-options) has been a key part of pay for executives and other employees since the 1950s.[*](https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2014/10/02/what-has-happened-to-stock-options/) As recently as 2014, **7.2%** of all private sector employees ( **8.5 million** people) and **13.1%** of _all_ employees of companies with stock held [stock options](https://www.holloway.com/definitions/stock-options), according to the National Center for Employee Ownership.[*](https://www.nceo.org/assets/pdf/articles/GSS-2014-data.pdf) Many believe employee ownership has ​paid​ [fostered innovations](https://www.wsj.com/articles/reviving-the-flagging-spirit-of-silicon-valley-1428706671) in technology, especially in Silicon Valley, from the [early days](https://www.hp.com/hpinfo/abouthp/histnfacts/publications/measure/pdf/1976_07.pdf) of Hewlett-Packard to recent examples like Facebook. Stock options helped the first 3,000 employees of Facebook enjoy roughly **$23 billion** at the time the company went public.[*](https://www.ft.com/content/d6599ae0-5738-11e1-869b-00144feabdc0)