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Elon Musk said he plans to hand one of his personal SpaceX shares to each US child in 2027, calling it the first of many such gifts.
He made the announcement when posting on X in the early hours of Monday, Eastern time.
Musk did not say whether the offer covers every minor under 18 or whether noncitizen children living in the US would qualify.
The Census Bureau counts just over 72M people under 18 in the US, which would make the pledge worth roughly $11B at current prices.
The giveaway would be a small slice of Musk's holdings, which run to billions of SpaceX shares.
Largest announced stock gifts to US children's accounts
As of Oct 19, 2026
| Donor | Announced | Beneficiaries | Stated value (USD) |
|---|---|---|---|
| Elon Musk (SpaceX) | Oct 2026 | just over 72 million people under 18 in the US | roughly $11 billion |
| Gwynne Shotwell and husband (SpaceX) | July 2026 | more than 2 million children | $320 million |
| Michael and Susan Dell | December 2025 | not stated | $6.25 billion |
The delivery route runs through Trump Accounts
Musk gave no mechanism, but Trump Accounts now allow stock donations, making them the obvious pipe.
The Internal Revenue Service proposed rules in late September permitting such contributions, a step meant to open a workable path for large-scale private giving.
Treasury finished automatically enrolling eligible children on Oct. 1, creating accounts for more than 60M kids who didn't already have one and bringing the total to nearly 70M.
How many US children each figure covers, millions, as of Oct 19, 2026
Bar chart. Millions of children. US people under 18 (Census): Children (M) 72. Trump Accounts open after Oct 1: Children (M) 70. Shotwell July gift: Children (M) 2.
Having an account isn't the same as using one. Families must first activate the account in the official Trump Accounts app, which unlocks both outside contributions and the government's $1K seed deposit.
That claiming step is the practical bottleneck for any mass share transfer.
Shotwell set the template in July
SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell and her husband pledged over $320M worth of SpaceX shares for Trump Accounts covering more than 2M children.
That donation targeted teens in lower-income areas near the couple's home in central Texas, a narrower group than Musk's nationwide promise.
SpaceX went public in June in the biggest IPO in history, raising $85.7B.
Musk's announcement followed a plan from Anthropic to set aside 5% of its shares for a fund that donates to public-good causes.
Both announcements come as large technology firms face scrutiny over artificial intelligence and its effect on jobs and society.
For families, the gift only becomes real once the account is claimed and the transfer rules are finalized.
