Elon Musk Says He’ll Give Every Child In America One SpaceX Share Next Year

Elon Musk on Monday announced he plans to give every child in America one share in his aerospace and AI company SpaceX next year, shortly after he criticized rival Anthropic's plan to pledge 5% of its shares to a public benefit fund and urged the company to distribute its shares directly to the public.

In a post on X early on Monday, Musk wrote: "Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America," adding that this will be the "first of many."

The world's richest man didn't offer details on when he would distribute the shares in 2027, how he would determine eligibility, or how he plans to transfer them to millions of American children.

Musk's use of "my SpaceX shares," in his announcement suggests that the pledge comes from his personal holdings rather than new shares being issued by the company.

Earlier this year, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband pledged to contribute one SpaceX share each to the so-called " Trump Accounts " of more than 2 million American children.

Last month, the Treasury Department expanded the Trump Accounts program to allow donations of individual company shares—although parents and children will be required to hold the donated stock for five years.

It's unclear if Musk's pledge is also linked to the Trump administration's investment accounts for children.

What Did Musk Say About Anthropic's Public Fund Earlier?

On Sunday, Anthropic announced it would commit at least 5% of its shares to a newly formed Anthropic Public Benefit Fund. The fund will be a "wholly owned limited liability company," and the Claude maker said it will be able to make large donations to nonprofits or "direct distributions" to specific populations. Musk appeared to criticize the move on X, tweeting at Anthropic: "I recommend giving the shares directly to the public." The billionaire announced his pledge of SpaceX stock around 12 hours later, although it's unclear whether he planned it earlier or responded to Anthropic's announcement.

Forbes estimates Elon Musk's current net worth is $908.5 billion, making him the world's richest person. The Tesla CEO and SpaceX founder's fortune has topped $1 trillion a few times this year since SpaceX's public market debut, making Musk the first person to breach that mark on Forbes' Real Time Billionaires list.

SpaceX shares rose more than 1% to $147.52 in premarket trading early on Monday, mirroring a wider bounce back in U.S. stock futures after last week's selloff. According to the U.S. Census Bureau, 21.1% of the U.S.'s roughly 341.8 million residents are under the age of 18, around 72.1 million total. If all 72 million receive a SpaceX share, the total giveaway would be worth approximately $10.5 billion. The census number however, includes both citizens and non-citizens and Musk's post didn't specify any details on who would be eligible.