Musk says he will give SpaceX stock to children in the U.S.

Musk's pledge

Yahoo Finance reports that Elon Musk, described as the world's wealthiest person, said on Monday that he will give every child in the United States a share of SpaceX stock. Musk, who is SpaceX's founder and CEO, made the statement in a post on X. He wrote: “Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many,” according to the report.

Value of the plan and missing details

The company is described as having a valuation of nearly $2 trillion, with Musk as its largest individual shareholder. Yahoo Finance says a SpaceX share was worth about $150 on Monday morning. Based on that price and the latest U.S. Census estimate of about 73 million people in the country under age 18, the reported giveaway would total nearly $11 billion.

Musk did not say how the shares would be handed out, when that would happen, or what age limit would apply for recipients, the article says. The report also notes that Musk's net worth is $908.5 billion, according to the most recent Fortune data. On that basis, the proposed giveaway would amount to about 1.2% of his wealth.

SpaceX and Musk's broader business role

Yahoo Finance says SpaceX builds and operates spacecraft and has deployed thousands of satellites to support its Starlink satellite internet service. The article also says the company oversees xAI, which offers a chatbot that competes with OpenAI's ChatGPT and Anthropic's Claude.

AI scrutiny and Anthropic's announcement

The report says Musk's pledge came during increased scrutiny from policymakers, investors, and the public over how AI could affect jobs and the broader economy. It also says his announcement was not the only recent public-benefit move by an AI company or executive.

Yahoo Finance reports that Anthropic announced a “Public Benefit Fund” on Sunday made up of 5% of the company's shares. The company said the fund's share of the business will increase if the company's value rises, and that another 2% of shares can be added at the board's discretion for each 50% increase in value above a set baseline. According to the announcement, the fund still needs shareholder approval.

Anthropic said it is a public benefit corporation and that most of its mission work happens inside the company, the report says. The company also said the fund would give it more flexibility and scale, including the possibility of large donations to traditional nonprofits or direct distributions to specific groups. Anthropic said AI could create major economic value but also instability for many workers, and noted that it has already committed $200 million to study and address that issue. The company said faster AI progress may require more ambitious approaches.