Musk says he will give one SpaceX share to every US child

Elon Musk posted on X on Monday, Oct. 19, 2026 that next year he will give one of his SpaceX shares to every kid in America, adding it will be the first of many. About 72 to 73 million U.S. children are under 18 per Census Bureau data. At SpaceX's Friday close of $146.03, the distribution is estimated at about $10.5 to $10.6 billion. An August SEC filing lists Musk at about 4.8 billion shares and a 48.4% beneficial stake; Forbes reports he owns 38% of SpaceX. The pledge came after Anthropic said on Oct. 18 it would put 5% of its stock into a Public Benefit Fund, with possible added amounts bringing roughly 20% of stock toward public-benefit purposes. Musk replied that he recommends giving the shares directly to the public and wrote that this is what he will be doing. SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband had pledged more than $320 million in SpaceX stock for Trump Accounts covering over 2 million children, accounts that include a $1,000 federal seed for children born 2025-2028. Contested: none found in record on the core pledge. Musk has not specified eligibility rules, how shares would be distributed or funded, or whether they would be held until adulthood. Whether the plan would use Trump Accounts remains unclear.