Elon Musk, CEO and founder of SpaceX, announced on his personal X account last Monday that he plans to give SpaceX shares to every child in the United States by next year, with each child receiving one share.
According to documents the company filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) in August, Elon Musk currently holds about 4.8 billion SpaceX shares. Including unvested awards and stock options, this number rises to 6.4 billion shares, representing a beneficial ownership of 48.4% of the company.
Official U.S. census data indicates that as of 1 July 2025, there are approximately 72 million children under 18 in the U.S. At Friday's (16 October 2026) closing price of $146.03 per SpaceX share, the total value of shares to be distributed to all children would be about $10.5 billion.
"This will be the first time, and there will be many more to come," Musk wrote in his X post, though he has not yet provided further details on how the shares will be distributed or allocated to each child.
According to CNBC, Brad Gerstner, founder of Altimeter Capital, Invest America, and Trump Accounts, praised Elon Musk's plan and suggested on X that the SpaceX shares could be allocated through Trump Accounts.
Gerstner wrote, "Amazing, Elon! This will be the largest charitable gift in history!"
He further supported the idea, saying, "There will be over 70 million accounts for every citizen under 18, including all children born from now on. They will have cost-free investment accounts they can use for life, enabling them to participate in America's growth and co-own leading companies in the country."
Over time, many billionaires have faced heavy criticism regarding their charitable giving and donations, with some contributing little back to society. Elon Musk has also been scrutinized, leading many to view his actions as inconsistent with his status as the world's richest person.
However, in recent weeks, Musk's donation activities have drawn significant attention, especially his political contributions.
Since July, Elon Musk has donated more than $276 million to various Republican groups, making him the largest donor to the U.S. 2026 midterm elections.
During the 2024 election campaign, Musk was also a major donor to Donald Trump's campaign, reportedly contributing over $290 million, according to CNN.
In terms of non-political charity, while Musk has announced plans to give SpaceX shares to every American child, his track record of fulfilling such pledges has been inconsistent.
For example, between 2016 and 2020, Musk, as a co-founder of OpenAI, donated about $38 million at its founding and promised up to $1 billion. However, he eventually ceased funding due to conflicts with other co-founders.
Another case occurred in 2021 when he pledged over $6 billion to the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP) if the organization had a clear plan to combat global hunger. Ultimately, he did not make the donation despite the plan being finalized.
Additionally, Musk's foundation has sometimes donated less than the legal minimum required, with The New York Times reporting that some donations went to charities directly linked to him and his companies.
Musk's recent announcement comes shortly after Anthropic revealed plans to allocate 5% of its shares to a Public Benefit Fund to donate or support AI impact studies.
On Sunday, Anthropic posted about the fund on X, and Musk commented, "I recommend giving shares directly to the public," adding that this is what he intends to do.
Anthropic's plan requires shareholder approval. Once approved, the company will allocate 5% of its shares to the fund immediately, with the board having the authority to increase the share allocation by 2% each time the company's value rises 50% above a set baseline.
Anthropic stated the fund may use the money to donate to traditional nonprofits or allocate funds directly to target populations. It could also study AI's impacts and address labor market changes due to AI replacing some human jobs.
:CNBC
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