Key points
- Gwynne Shotwell names who gets her SpaceX shares
- Shotwell's first round goes to lower-income ZIP codes
- Shotwell plans a second gift for military and foster kids
SpaceX (SPCX) president Gwynne Shotwell said the more than 2 million SpaceX shares she and her husband, Robert, are giving away "will be distributed to children's Trump accounts in December." The first round will go to 11- to 17-year-olds who live in ZIP codes with a median family income of $57,000 or less.
A second gift for children in military families serving overseas, children in foster care, and more children in Texas is due in a few weeks. Shotwell gave the details in an X post on October 30, nearly four months after she first pledged the shares.
Shotwell said the shares are "transferring to escrow as we speak." Escrow means a third party holds the shares until they're handed out.
The first round also covers children in ZIP codes with too few residents for the census to report a median family income. "These families should receive a notice by Monday," she wrote. That Monday is November 2.
Shotwell said the second gift will be finalized in a few weeks and will also go to 11- to 17-year-olds. For children in counties near the couple's Texas home, she set a median family income limit of $90,000. She didn't say whether that limit is measured by ZIP code, as in the first round, or by county.
The post doesn't name the Texas counties. It also doesn't say how the more than 2 million shares will be split between the two gifts.
Two million shares are worth about $269 million
SpaceX shares closed at $134.72 on October 30. At that price, 2 million shares are worth about $269 million. The gift is more than 2 million shares, so its full value is higher.
Shotwell first pledged in early July to give one share each to more than 2 million children. Semafor valued that pledge at $320 million at the time.
The Dells and Musk have pledged gifts to children too
Trump Accounts are tax-advantaged investment accounts for American children under 18, and the program launched in July. The federal government deposits $1,000 for children born from January 1, 2025, through the end of 2028.
In December 2025, Michael and Susan Dell pledged $6.25 billion to fund $250 deposits for about 25 million children 10 and under. Shotwell's gift goes to children 11 to 17. She thanked the Treasury, the IRS, the Dell Foundation, and others for "working over the past few months to make this happen."
On October 19, Elon Musk said he would give one SpaceX share to "every kid in America" next year. As of October 31, he hadn't said how those shares would be distributed.
