Elon Musk stated on the social network X that over the next year he will transfer one share of his company SpaceX to every child living in the United States. According to the billionaire, this step «will be the beginning of many other gift-giving initiatives.» The statement came hours after Anthropic announced its intention to donate 5% of its shares to a special fund designed to contribute to the «public good».
The Promise and Its Scale
According to the U.S. Census Bureau estimates, about 72 million children live in the country. At the current SpaceX share price of $146, the total cost of such a donation would be approximately $10.5 billion. At the same time, Musk did not disclose the mechanism for transferring the securities: how exactly the shares will be issued and transferred to minors remains unclear, and the billionaire provided no details about the plan.
Response to Anthropic's Gesture
Musk's post appeared against the backdrop of an announcement by Anthropic, the developer of the Claude AI model, which is preparing for a large-scale initial public offering. The company, which has repeatedly expressed concern over social risks and potential dangers of AI, stated that part of the funds raised through crowdfunding will be directed to solving problems related to «impact on the labor market.» In response to Anthropic's publication, Musk suggested on the company's X account to issue shares «directly to the general public.»
Political Background
The statement came as the U.S. administration launched the «Trump Account» initiative, which provides for a $1,000 payout to every American child born between 2025 and 2028. Thus, Musk's gesture was inscribed in the general context of public programs focused on child payouts, enhancing its symbolic and likely political resonance.
Skepticism Surrounding Promises
According to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Musk remains the wealthiest person in the world with a fortune of over $900 billion, most of which comes from SpaceX shares (about $700 billion), with the rest in Tesla, Boring, and Neuralink. Nevertheless, observers remind that the billionaire is known for ideas that never materialize or plans that he later explains as jokes. Musk pinned the new post about distributing SpaceX shares to the top of his profile on the X platform, indicating his intention to make the statement prominent, although the practical implementation of the promise has not yet been confirmed.
