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I wonder how many people each year make at least $1m from startup equity appreciation (that is actually liquid).

Because it's between 1500 and 2000 people that win at least $1m in lotteries in the US every year. Granted, lots more people play the lottery than start or join a startup, but it's an interesting comparison.

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If you optimize for cash comp, you can invest the "extra" cash into thousands or even tens of thousands of lottery tickets of your choosing. They could be actual lottery tickets, or deep-out-of-the-money call options on FAANG or options on QQQ.

I'm not sure if the calculation is correct. 2000 people winning lotteries out of at least millions of people, right? Yet in the startup word, it is thousands of people out a few hundreds of thousands? Another factor to consider is that your equity keeps giving, while lottery is a one-off deal.

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