I often see debates around here about whether or not people should accept equity as part of their compensation or prefer all-cash. My perception is that there seems to be a lot of support for the cash-only position. That is fine. Nobody gets to have their cake and eat it too. People who chose to accept the risk, in this case at least, were richly rewarded. Lots of people at other companies choose not to accept the risk and they are protected if their employer happens to go bust.