Tech billionaire Elon Musk said on X that he plans to give every American child one of his SpaceX shares in 2027. The giveaway will be the “first of many,” he wrote, without adding more details.
Musk did not provide details about eligibility, how the shares would be distributed or whether they would be subject to restrictions. Reuters estimated the pledge at roughly $11 billion at current share prices, based on U.S. Census figures showing about 72 million children in the country.
Musk’s action comes a day after Anthropic announced that it is committing 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund, subject to stockholder approval.
The Anthropic Public Benefit Fund will be a wholly owned limited liability company designed to support efforts such as nonprofit donations, direct distributions to specific populations and programs addressing AI’s effects on workers.
Anthropic said its board could add another 2% of shares for every 50% increase in the company’s value above a baseline that was not disclosed. Also, Anthropic said its co-founders already pledged to give away 80% of their equity at the company’s founding while its equity donation match program has participation among about half of its employees.
Taken together, about 20% of Anthropic shares will be aimed at serving the public good.
Anthropic said equity held by the fund will not be used for lobbying or political giving and that it will disclose more details about the fund’s governance and valuation milestones in coming months.
The announcements put two different approaches to distributing technology-generated wealth into view as AI companies face increasing scrutiny over the technology’s potential effects on employment and the broader economy.