Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX, announced plans to distribute one share of his company’s stock to every child in the United States next year. Based on current stock prices and the U.S. child population, this gift could be valued at approximately $10.5 billion, although specific implementation details have not been disclosed.
On October 19, Musk posted on his platform X, "I will give one share of SpaceX stock to every child in the U.S. next year." He added, "This will be the first of many things to come." This initiative is intended as a personal gift from Musk rather than a company-wide distribution.
The estimated value of the gift exceeds $10 billion. Business Insider reported that based on 2025 U.S. Census data, the child population is approximately 72 million. Applying the recent closing price of SpaceX stock at $146.03 on October 16, the total value reaches around $10.5 billion. SpaceX went public in June.
However, this estimate is based on current prices, and the actual value of the gift will depend on the stock price at the time of distribution and the final number of recipients. Musk did not specify criteria such as age, citizenship, or residency requirements for the phrase "all children in the U.S." He also did not clarify when or how the shares would be distributed next year.
Musk's announcement followed the recent launch of a public benefit fund by the AI company Anthropic. The day before, Anthropic announced it would contribute 5% of its stock to the "Anthropic Public Benefit Fund" after receiving shareholder approval. The company also proposed that the board could contribute an additional 2% of shares whenever its valuation increases by 50% over a certain threshold.
In response to Anthropic's announcement, Musk suggested, "I encourage giving shares directly to the public," revealing his plan to transfer shares personally rather than through a fund.
There have been previous instances of SpaceX executives expressing intentions to donate shares to children. Gwynne Shotwell, the company’s president, announced in July that she and her husband would donate shares to over 2 million children aged 11 to 17 living in relatively low-income areas through a "Trump account." However, Musk did not mention whether he would use a similar system for this gift.
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk's net worth exceeds $900 billion, with approximately $700 billion attributed to his SpaceX holdings. While he has the capacity for a significant gift, whether he will follow through remains uncertain.
Bloomberg noted that Musk has a history of proposing ideas that have not materialized or later claiming they were jokes. Although he pinned this post to the top of his X account, he has yet to provide specific plans for the distribution.
* This article has been translated by AI.
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