Elon Musk has announced plans to give one share of SpaceX to every child in the United States in 2027, a donation potentially worth more than $10 billion. Based on the company’s recent share price of approximately $146, the proposed distribution would represent roughly 1% of Musk’s estimated $1 trillion net worth.
Musk said the donation would be the first of several planned share distributions, although he has not explained how the shares will be transferred or who will qualify. The pledge concerns shares in SpaceX, which operates spaceflight and artificial intelligence businesses.
Musk’s Share Distribution Could Reach 70 Million Children
The United States has more than 70 million children under 18, according to the Federal Interagency Forum on Child and Family Statistics. Distributing one share to each child at $146 per share would place the total value above $10 billion.
Regulatory filings show Musk holds approximately 849 million Class A common shares and more than 5.5 billion Class B supervoting shares in SpaceX. His holdings could increase through additional equity awards.
The proposed distribution could potentially use Trump Accounts, a government-backed investment account program established under President Donald Trump. These accounts can accept stock donations from wealthy individuals, although Musk has not confirmed whether he intends to use them.
Musk previously spent approximately $300 million supporting Trump’s election campaign. He did not immediately respond to a request for comment regarding the proposed share distribution.
Musk’s Pledge Follows Anthropic’s Public Benefit Fund Announcement
Musk’s announcement followed a separate commitment by artificial intelligence company Anthropic to allocate 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund, subject to shareholder approval. The company intends to use the fund for substantial donations to nonprofit organizations or direct distributions to selected populations following its planned initial public offering.
On October 18, Musk responded to Anthropic’s announcement on X, recommending that the company distribute shares directly to the public. Four hours later, he indicated that he planned to follow that approach before announcing the SpaceX donation overnight.
Musk Foundation’s Previous Donations Face Scrutiny
Musk has historically conducted most of his charitable giving through the Musk Foundation, which ranks as the fifth-largest private charitable foundation in the United States. Despite his publicly expressed criticism of conventional philanthropy, the foundation has distributed substantial funding to various organizations.
A recent investigation by The Economist found that most of the foundation’s historical distributions went to entities with connections to Musk. Nearly 60% of its total giving went to another charitable organization called The Foundation, which is managed by Musk’s money manager, Jared Birchall.
Featured image credits: Wikimedia Commons
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