Musk pledges SpaceX shares to every American child

Elon Musk pledged to give one SpaceX share to every child in America next year, a gift estimated to be worth nearly $11 billion. The donation will be made through Trump accounts, which provide every child with a small nest egg of U.S. equities. Estimates of the total value vary slightly based on share price and child population figures; one calculation using a $146 share price and 72 million children values the gift at over $10 billion, while another using a $148 price and 73 million children estimates it at nearly $11 billion. This represents roughly 1% of Musk's net worth, which is estimated between $900 billion and $1 trillion. The announcement came hours after Anthropic promised to put 5% of its shares into a new public benefit fund for donations to non-profits or direct distributions after its upcoming IPO. Musk replied to Anthropic's post on X, suggesting they give directly to the public rather than through foundations, which he fears could be hijacked by political opponents. Brad Gerstner, who proposed the Trump accounts, called it the largest philanthropic gift in history. Investor Travis Kling noted this represents a choice between wealthy individuals distributing wealth directly or politicians taxing it away, while Gabriel Zuckman suggested Musk would be better served paying more in taxes. Andrew Yang described the move as phenomenal. The moves align with the 'Trump Accounts' policy, which provides $1,000 in start capital to children born between January 2025 and the end of 2028.