WASHINGTON – Elon Musk, chief executive of SpaceX and one of the world’s richest people, has announced plans to gift shares in his company to all children in the United States in 2027.
According to the announcement, Musk intends to distribute shares among American children under the age of 18, although he has not yet disclosed how the proposed distribution would be carried out.
Musk reportedly owns 4.8 billion shares in SpaceX, representing approximately 48.4 per cent of the company. Based on the figures cited in the report, the proposed gift would amount to shares worth around $10.5 billion.
According to US population estimates as of July 1, 2025, the country had approximately 72 million children under the age of 18.
If implemented as announced, the plan would involve distributing SpaceX shares among millions of American children. However, Musk has not provided details about how the beneficiaries would be identified, how the shares would be allocated or how the arrangements would be managed.
Musk Calls It His First Donation
In a post on X, formerly Twitter, Musk described the proposed share distribution as his first donation and indicated that he intended to undertake similar initiatives in the future.
However, he did not specify the mechanism through which the shares would be transferred to children or whether additional eligibility conditions would apply.
The announcement has drawn attention to the possibility of distributing corporate ownership directly to members of the public rather than channelling shares through charitable organisations.
Remarks Follow Anthropic’s Public-Benefit Proposal
Musk made the announcement after artificial intelligence company Anthropic disclosed plans to allocate five per cent of its shares to a public-benefit fund.
Responding to Anthropic’s post on X, Musk suggested that the shares should instead be distributed directly to the public, referring to his own proposed initiative.
“I would suggest giving the shares directly to the public, as I intend to do,” Musk wrote in his response.
His comments highlighted a difference in the proposed approaches to distributing corporate wealth, with Anthropic outlining a public-benefit fund and Musk discussing direct share ownership for American children.
Further details about Musk’s proposed giveaway, including its implementation and the precise value of the shares at the time of distribution, have yet to be announced.
