Anthropic and Elon Musk offer competing visions for sharing AI wealth
Anthropic plans to dedicate 5% of its equity to a public-benefit fund, while Musk has pledged a SpaceX share for every American child. Their proposals come as the AI industry faces mounting concerns over job losses, safety and the concentration of wealth.
Anthropic and Elon Musk have outlined sharply different approaches to sharing the spoils of the AI boom, a divide that could help shape how the technology’s financial windfall reaches the public.
The creator of the Claude AI models said over the weekend that it would dedicate 5% of its shares to a new fund for the “public good.” Musk, meanwhile, pledged on Monday to give one SpaceX share to “every kid in America,” advocating direct distributions as the rapidly growing AI industry faces increasing public scrutiny.
Security breaches involving AI systems, warnings from industry leaders that unchecked development could pose severe or even existential risks, and growing concerns about job losses have intensified public anxiety over the technology.
While Anthropic is betting on distributing wealth through nonprofit donations and direct contributions to specific populations, Musk, the world’s richest person with a net worth approaching $1 trillion, has argued that shares should be given directly to the public.
“Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many,” Musk, who also runs AI company xAI, said in a post early Monday. He held approximately 6.42 billion SpaceX shares as of June.
SpaceX shares closed up about 1% on Monday.
Anthropic said its initiative would give it greater flexibility and scale to make donations for the benefit of humanity. The company is preparing for what could be one of the largest initial public offerings in history as a public benefit corporation, a legal structure that requires management to balance broader public interests with profitability.
The IPO could value Anthropic at roughly $2 trillion, although Reuters reported last week that some investors are considering a lower valuation of around $1.5 trillion. At those valuations, a 5% stake would be worth approximately $75 billion to $100 billion.
That would dwarf the potential value of Musk’s proposed giveaway, estimated at roughly $11 billion based on current share prices and U.S. Census Bureau figures showing that there are about 72 million children in the country.
“Giving shares, which are stakes in the future economy, directly to the people is the way,” Musk said.
Musk’s announcement comes months after the White House launched Trump Accounts, an investment program that provides U.S. citizens born between 2025 and 2028 with a government-funded investment account containing $1,000, which families can supplement.
Individuals and corporations can also contribute shares to the accounts. Major U.S. companies, including Dell, Visa, Micron and Delta Air Lines, have pledged support through employer matching programs or additional funding.
“A BIG THANK YOU to our legendary friend, Elon Musk, for his incredible generosity in giving SpaceX Stock to millions of American children through TRUMP ACCOUNTS!” President Donald Trump wrote on his social media platform, Truth Social.
SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether Musk’s proposed share donations would be linked to Trump Accounts or subject to a lockup period restricting when recipients could sell their shares.
Earlier this year, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell and her husband pledged to contribute a share of their SpaceX stock to each of more than 2 million children through the Trump initiative.
“That’s a lot of shares... I’m sure somebody will be happy to take them,” said Robert Pavlik, a senior portfolio manager at Dakota Wealth Management who does not hold SpaceX shares in the portfolios he manages.
“It feels like a publicity stunt... Will it create positive public sentiment? Perhaps,” he added.
Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, have pledged $6.25 billion in cash for Trump Accounts, with a focus on children from underprivileged backgrounds. By contrast, the value of Musk’s proposed contribution will depend on SpaceX’s share price, which can fluctuate significantly.
Much of Musk’s philanthropy has been channeled through the Musk Foundation, which reportedly holds more than $14 billion in assets.
Warren Buffett, chairman emeritus of Berkshire Hathaway and one of the world’s most prominent philanthropists, has reportedly given away $60 billion, with much of the remainder of his roughly $150 billion fortune also earmarked for philanthropy. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation has distributed more than $100 billion since its founding in 2000, with some of that funding coming from Buffett’s donations.
Anthropic, which has positioned itself as a safety-focused AI company, has warned that AI could pose “catastrophic or existential risks to humanity.”
In its blog post, the company said its proposed Public Benefit Fund could support initiatives ranging from direct distributions to specific populations to efforts addressing AI’s impact on the labor market. The fund would build on a previously announced $200 million commitment to study and address labor market disruption.
The proposed fund would be established as a wholly owned limited liability company. It would receive an additional 2% of Anthropic’s shares, at the board’s discretion, for every 50% increase in the company’s value above a baseline that has yet to be disclosed.
Companies around the world have cut thousands of jobs after investing heavily in AI, with many, particularly in the technology sector, citing efficiency gains from the technology’s rapid adoption.
Anthropic said none of the equity held by its fund would be used for lobbying or political donations in the United States or abroad.
U.S. policymakers are weighing greater oversight of AI, while companies are stepping up efforts to influence how the technology is regulated.
Combined with a pledge by Anthropic’s co-founders to donate 80% of their equity and an employee donation-matching program, roughly 20% of the company’s shares will be dedicated to public purposes, excluding any additional shares that may be added to the fund in the future.
Anthropic said it would provide more details soon about the fund’s governance, structure and the valuation thresholds that could trigger increases in its ownership stake.
