Elon Musk Just Said He’ll Give a SpaceX Share to ‘Every Kid in America.’ That Could Cost Him $10.7 Billion.

Musk’s pledge on X came a day after Anthropic announced a $48 billion fund for social causes, including AI’s impact on jobs.

By Jonathan Small | edited by Dan Bova | Oct 19, 2026
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Elon Musk is feeling generous today. Or maybe just competitive.

“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America,” Musk wrote on X. “This will be the first of many.”

Roughly 73 million Americans are under 18, which puts the giveaway at about $10.7 billion based on Friday’s closing price of around $146 a share, according to CNN. Musk didn’t say how the shares would be distributed or who would qualify.

The offer was a response to Anthropic, which said Sunday it will put at least 5% of its shares, worth about $48 billion at its latest valuation, into a “Public Benefit Fund” for social causes, including softening AI’s impact on jobs. Musk one-upped them by saying SpaceX shares should go directly to the public instead.

Musk isn’t the first SpaceX executive to hand out stock to kids. In July, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell and her husband gifted one share each to the Trump Accounts of more than 2 million children, a donation President Trump valued at $325 million.

Elon Musk is feeling generous today. Or maybe just competitive.

“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America,” Musk wrote on X. “This will be the first of many.”

Roughly 73 million Americans are under 18, which puts the giveaway at about $10.7 billion based on Friday’s closing price of around $146 a share, according to CNN. Musk didn’t say how the shares would be distributed or who would qualify.

The offer was a response to Anthropic, which said Sunday it will put at least 5% of its shares, worth about $48 billion at its latest valuation, into a “Public Benefit Fund” for social causes, including softening AI’s impact on jobs. Musk one-upped them by saying SpaceX shares should go directly to the public instead.

Musk isn’t the first SpaceX executive to hand out stock to kids. In July, SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell and her husband gifted one share each to the Trump Accounts of more than 2 million children, a donation President Trump valued at $325 million.

Jonathan Small

Entrepreneur Staff
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