Musk pledges one SpaceX share to every US kid after Anthropic commits 5% of stock to public benefit fund

Anthropic said on Sunday it will commit 5% of its shares to a new public benefit fund — and Elon Musk has countered by pledging one of his SpaceX shares to “every kid in America” (https://www.channelnewsasia.com/business/anthropic-commit-5-stake-new-public-benefit-fund-6470326).

The fund is a wholly owned LLC — not a charity — subject to stockholder approval, with up to 2% more per 50% rise in value above an undisclosed baseline. With the co-founders’ 80%-equity pledge and an employee donation match, about 20% of Anthropic shares are now earmarked for public good. The equity may not fund lobbying or political giving; AI’s impact on jobs — a $200m research commitment — is a named focus (https://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/technology/tech-news/elon-musk-to-dario-amodei-i-do-not-agree-with-your-donation-of-anthropic-shares-i-recommend-/articleshow/135038972.cms).

The May $65bn round valued Anthropic at $965bn, so the stake is worth about $48bn on paper; the Guardian reports a November IPO at a possible $1.5tn valuation. Anthropic filed confidentially with the SEC in June; its 261-page prospectus devotes roughly 80 pages to risk factors (https://maccus.fr/en/anthropic-public-benefit-fund/).

Musk replied on X: “I recommend giving the shares directly to the public. This is what I will be doing.” Then: “Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many.” The post drew 4.4m+ views and 124k likes — about $10.5bn of stock across ~72m US under-18s at Friday’s $146.03 close, per CNBC. Musk held about 6.42bn SpaceX shares as of June, but has not said how or when they would be distributed (https://dealroom.co/news/163719-anthropic-pledges-5-of-shares-to-public-benefit-fund-as-it-eyes-record-i/).

SpaceX’s June IPO raised $85.7bn — the largest on record — making Musk the world’s first trillionaire; SpaceX owns Anthropic rival xAI (https://www.lanacion.com.ar/usa/musk-says-hell-give-some-spacex-shares-to-public-after-anthropic-announces-public-benefit-fund-nid19102026/). Investor Vijar Kohli, CEO of Golden Door, wrote on X that the move “pre-emptively dilutes voting rights” and could complicate Anthropic’s IPO, with the fund’s governance still undisclosed (https://www.freepressjournal.in/tech/anthropic-commits-5-of-its-shares-for-public-benefit-elon-musk-says-give-all-shares-to-the-public).