Musk’s idea: he will give every child in the US a share in SpaceX
The CEO made the announcement in response to a post by Anthropic, which, for its part, is donating 5 per cent of its shares to a charitable fund
A move in true Elon Musk style. The CEO of SpaceX, in response to Anthropic’s decision to donate 5 per cent of its shares to a public benefit fund, has opted for an alternative – and certainly more high-profile – approach. He has, in fact, promised that next year he will give every child in the United States one of his SpaceX shares. Musk, in direct response to Anthropic’s decision, wrote on X: ‘I suggest donating the shares directly to the public.’
Hence his decision to donate shares to American children. It is therefore worth starting straight away with the figures. According to a document filed with the SEC in August, Musk currently owns around 4.8 billion SpaceX shares. This figure rises to 6.4 billion when unvested awards and share options are taken into account, representing an effective 48.4 per cent stake in the company.
It must be said that Musk has not explained the details of the operation clearly; however, these may be revealed when the eagerly awaited quarterly figures are published. This is another reason why it is difficult to make estimates. The term ‘every American child’ could refer to all American citizens up to a certain age, or to newborns.
In any case, according to official census figures, as at 1 July 2025 there were 72 million people under the age of 18 in the United States. If the calculation were based on the number of minors, this would mean that the CEO would be giving away shares worth around $10 billion (taking into account the current price of SpaceX shares).
“This will be the first of many,” Musk said in a post on X, without providing further details on how the shares will be distributed.
