Elon Musk pledges SpaceX shares to every American child next year

Elon Musk promised on Monday to give one of his SpaceX shares to every child in the United States starting next year, Euronews, PBS NewsHour, and UPI report. The Verge, CNBC, and the Daily Express also confirm the announcement. Based on around 72 million children living in the country as of July 2025, CNBC estimates that the plan is worth approximately 10.5 billion dollars, while Euronews reports the value at about 10.7 billion dollars and the Daily Express puts it at 10.66 billion dollars. [1][3][4][5][6][7]

The billionaire made the statement in a post on the social media platform X, according to The Verge and UPI. Euronews and PBS NewsHour report that his offer came in response to a Sunday post by artificial intelligence company Anthropic, which announced plans to commit 5 percent of its shares to a public benefit fund. Euronews and PBS NewsHour note that Musk replied to Anthropic by stating he recommends giving shares directly to the public. The Verge reports that Musk stated on social media that the giveaway will be the first of many. [1][3][4][5]

Euronews, CNBC, and the Daily Express report that Musk has not explained how the shares will be distributed or who will qualify for the gift. The Verge notes that the pledge comes months after SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell announced that she would be giving away shares of the company. [1][3][6][7]

Elon Musk is the wealthiest person in the world, deriving his wealth primarily from ownership stakes in SpaceX and Tesla. SpaceX completed an initial public offering in June 2026 that valued the company at 1.77 trillion dollars. [11][12]