- Reuters
- October 20, 2026
Musk pledges SpaceX share for every American child a day after Anthropic fund announcement
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- Roshail Khan
- October 20, 2026
SpaceX founder and CEO Elon Musk said on Monday, in a post on X, that he will give one of his SpaceX shares to every child in the United States next year.
The announcement came a day after Anthropic, an AI company, said it would commit part of its shares to a public benefit fund, and Musk had replied to the company on X recommending that shares go directly to the public.
However, Musk did not say how the shares would be distributed or how recipients would be identified.
What Anthropic announced
On Sunday, Anthropic said it would commit 5% of its shares, subject to stockholder approval, to a new Public Benefit Fund set up as a wholly owned LLC. The board could add 2 percentage points for each 50% rise in the company’s value above a baseline that has not been disclosed.
Anthropic said the fund could make large donations to traditional non-profits or direct distributions to specific populations, and that it would not be used for lobbying or political contributions. The company pointed to labour market effects of AI as one area of focus.
Together with earlier pledges, about 20% of Anthropic’s shares would be dedicated to public benefit. The company also said it would share more on governance in the coming months.
Counting the scale of Musk’s pledge
US Census Bureau figures show just over 72 million people under 18 currently living in the states. At Monday’s closing price of $147.98, one share each would be worth a little over $10.6 billion. Musk held about 4.8 billion SpaceX shares, according to an August SEC filing.
A broader measure of beneficial ownership, which includes other awards, puts his stake at about 6.42 billion shares, or 48.4%, according to Forbes. Even if Musk gave away 72 million shares as part of the pledge, it would represent only slightly more than 1% of his reported holdings.
How it could work
Musk did not say whether “kid” meant all minors under 18, and did not say whether non-citizens would be included. He also did not say how recipients would be identified, which share class would be given, or how shares would be legally transferred to minors. SpaceX’s Class B shares carry 10 votes each and convert to Class A on transfers outside a permitted transfer, which could shape the form of any gift.
One possible route is Trump Accounts. Investor Brad Gerstner, who founded Invest America, suggested on X that the shares could be distributed through them.
However, Musk has not said whether he would use the accounts.
Musk’s views on wealth distribution
Speaking at the White House on September 29, 2026, Musk said the most likely outcome of AI was an “age of abundance” with universal high income rather than basic income. He has also said the transition is likely to be “bumpy.”
In April, he wrote on X that federal government checks were the best way to deal with AI-caused unemployment. Earlier, he called Trump Accounts a nice gesture but said saving would be unnecessary under universal high income.
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- AFP
- October 20, 2026
