ESOPs look great on paper, but every one I ever participated in screwed me over royally. From a wise investor viewpoint, having all your money invested in the same company you work for is idiotic: If the company fails, you lose your job AND all your savings! It's much smarter to cash in all company stock you get as soon as you can and buy index funds.

Now of course, if you worked for Google or Amazon that would have cost you. But how many of us work for Google or Amazon?