The worlds richest man, Elon Musk announced on Monday, October 19, that he plans to give a share of his aerospace and artificial intelligence company, SpaceX, to every child in the United States.
“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America,” Musk wrote on X, adding, “This will be the first of many”.
The proposal lacked operational details regarding eligibility criteria or distribution mechanics for the nation’s minor population.
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, there are approximately 73 million individuals under the age of 18 in the United States.
With SpaceX shares trading around $146, the total cost of the proposed giveaway would exceed $10 billion.
Musk’s post came in direct response to AI firm Anthropic’s announcement that it will allocate 5 percent of its equity valued at approximately $48 billion to a “Public Benefit Fund” designed to mitigate societal disruptions caused by artificial intelligence.
Replying on X, Musk argued that shares should be distributed directly to the public rather than placed into managed funds. The announcement comes four months after SpaceX went public in June in the largest initial public offering on record.