Elon Musk says he plans to give a portion of his net worth to every child in America, with the rollout starting “next year.” As first highlighted by LADbible, Musk made the pledge in a post on X but has not explained how the shares will reach anyone.
Musk wrote that next year he will give one of his SpaceX shares “to every kid in America.” He also said it would be “the first of many,” suggesting more could follow.
The announcement came after Musk publicly criticized Anthropic, which had pledged 5 percent of its shares to a public benefit fund rather than directly to the public. Musk had recommended “giving the shares directly to the public,” then followed up with his own pledge 12 hours later.
Nobody knows yet how the shares will actually be handed out
Musk, who recently promised flying cars on X, did not say how he would distribute the shares, including whether they would arrive as direct deposits or go through a charity or political program. Since he specifically mentioned his SpaceX shares, the payout would appear to come from his personal holdings rather than from SpaceX as a company.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 72.1 million minors in America, making up about 21.1 percent of the total population of 341.8 million. SpaceX shares were valued at $146.03 each at the time of reporting, meaning a single share for each of those children would total around $10.5 billion.
Musk is currently the world’s richest person, with Forbes estimating his net worth at around $908.5 billion. He was also the first person to briefly reach a trillion-dollar net worth.
He held 6.42 billion SpaceX shares as of June 30, far more than the number of children in America. Musk has not clarified any other eligibility criteria for the shares.
Published: Oct 19, 2026 12:15 pm