Elon Musk has promised to give every child in the United States one of his shares in SpaceX (SPCX), the publicly traded commercial space company that he runs.
Musk currently owns about 6.4 billion SpaceX shares, according to regulatory filings. That represents a 48.4% beneficial stake in the company that went public in June of this year.
There are currently 72 million children under the age of 18 in the U.S., according to government census data.
That would amount to the CEO giving away about $10.5 billion U.S. worth of shares, considering SpaceX’s current stock price of $146.03 U.S.
“This will be the first of many,” Musk said on social media. without providing any details on how the share giveaway would be structured or when it would happen.
Musk’s comments come as pressure grows on technology companies and their leaders to show some public benefit from the emergence of artificial intelligence (A.I.) technologies.
Last week, A.I. startup company Anthropic said that it plans to commit 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund, with the stake potentially increasing as the company’s valuation grows.
Subject to shareholder approval, Anthropic’s fund would immediately commit 5% of the company’s shares, with an additional 2% for every 50% increase in the company’s value.
Musk’s pledge to give every child one share of SpaceX stock also comes as the midterm congressional elections in the U.S. approach.
Musk has emerged as the biggest financial donor to U.S. President Donald Trump’s Republican Party in the midterm election cycle.
Media reports say that Musk has spent $366 million U.S. of his own money during the midterm elections, making him the largest individual political donor in America.
Trump has promised to send a $5,000 U.S. check to every adult U.S. citizen if the Republicans retain control of both the House of Representatives and the Senate in the midterm elections.
Since going public in June of this year, SPCX stock has declined 9% to trade at $146.03 U.S. per share.
Tech Insider
