Musk made the announcement on Monday, October 19, 2026, in a post on X, describing the move as the beginning of further initiatives he plans to undertake.
“Next year, I will give every child in America one share of my SpaceX stock,” he wrote.
Musk did not specify when the distribution would begin, how eligible children would be selected, or how the shares would be delivered.
The announcement comes after Musk criticised Anthropic, an AI company that announced plans to allocate at least 5% of its equity to a fund called the Anthropic Public Benefit Fund, intended to support communities and nonprofit organisations.
Musk urged Anthropic to distribute the shares directly to the public rather than placing them in a fund. About 12 hours later, he announced his own plan to benefit American children.
The shares Musk intends to give away could be worth approximately $10.5 billion.
Figures from the US Census Bureau indicate that the United States has a population of approximately 341.8 million, including about 72.1 million people under the age of 18.
As of October 19, 2026, one SpaceX share was valued at $147.52.
If all 72 million children each received one share, the total value of the shares distributed would amount to approximately $10.5 billion.
Figures released in August show that Musk owned 6.42 billion SpaceX shares as of June 30, 2026.
This means that distributing 72 million shares would account for slightly more than 1% of his stake in the company.
It remains unclear whether the initiative will be linked to Trump Accounts, investment accounts designed for children in the United States.
According to Forbes, Musk’s net worth is estimated at $908.5 billion, making him the richest person in the world.
