Elon Musk pledges to give SpaceX share to every US child
Sell: The multi-billionaire has announced plans to give every child in the United States one share in his space company SpaceX next year – a small fraction of his estimated $US900 billion fortune. Read more:
Elon Musk has announced plans to give every child in the United States one share in his space company SpaceX next year, with the move estimated to be worth more than $US10 billion ($A14 billion) – a small fraction of the multi-billionaire’s wealth.
Musk announced the giveaway on social media on Monday, saying that the initiative is the first “of many”, however he provided no details on how this will realistically be implemented.
According to the latest US census data, there are over 70 million people under the age of 18. At SpaceX’s current share price, distributing one share to each child would cost more than $US10 billion.
Musk has an estimated fortune of more than $US900 billion ($A1.3 trillion), according to Forbes magazine, with major shares in SpaceX and Tesla.
It is believed that the move was made following rival artificial intelligence company Anthropic announcement that it would place 5 per cent of its shares into a fund intended to benefit the public.
Musk replied Anthropic on X: “I recommend giving the shares directly to the public.”
SpaceX shares initially surged following their stock market debut in June, but have since fallen, trading below $US150 ($A215), while questions remain about the company’s valuation of around $US1.9 trillion.
It also lags behind current AI leaders Anthropic and OpenAI, the developer of ChatGPT.
Image: Frederic Legrand – COMEO / Shutterstock.com
