Facebook Graffiti Artist 'Set For Millions'

A graffiti artist hired by Facebook to paint the company's first headquarters in 2005 could reportedly be worth millions when it floats on the stock exchange this year.

Rather than accepting cash for his murals seven years ago, David Choe apparently accepted company stock as payment.

At the time he carried out the work, Mr Choe reportedly considered the concept of Facebook "ridiculous and pointless" according to the New York Times.

But now Mr Choe, who lives in Los Angeles, California, has an active Facebook page, hosting numerous photographs of his work - including the Facebook HQ murals.

And his shares are expected to be worth around $200m (around £127m) when the company's stock trades publicly later this year.

On Wednesday, the California-based social networking giant announced a $5bn (£3bn) public offering.

Facebook's total value is estimated as much as $100bn (£63bn), putting it on a par with McDonald's, but behind Apple and Google.

It would be the largest floatation ever by an internet company on Wall Street.

Mark Zuckerberg launched the website eight years ago from his Harvard University dorm room.

Last year, it reported net income of $668m (£422m) last year, up from $372m (£235m) the previous year.