Anthropic's 5% Public Benefit Fund Is a Company-Owned LLC. Musk's SpaceX Share Pledge for Kids Has No Mechanism Yet

Since Anthropic said Sunday, Oct. 18 that it would put 5% of its shares into a new public benefit fund, and Elon Musk answered Monday, Oct. 19 with a pledge of his own, the outlines of the two plans have come into sharper focus. They are not the same kind of promise.

How Anthropic's fund is built

The Anthropic Public Benefit Fund still needs stockholder approval. It would be set up as a wholly owned LLC subsidiary of the company, not a tax-exempt nonprofit. Anthropic says that structure gives it flexibility in how money goes out.

The fund could make large gifts to nonprofits or send money directly to "specific populations." Anthropic says none of it will go to lobbying or political donations, in the U.S. or abroad.

The company framed the job-market fallout from AI as a main target. It has already set aside $200 million to study AI's effect on workers. Its statement said that "given the pace of AI progress, bolder approaches may be needed."

The 5% is not necessarily the ceiling. For every 50% its valuation rises above a set baseline, the fund could receive another 2% of shares. Those top-ups are at the board's discretion. Anthropic has not said which valuation milestones would trigger them or how the fund will be governed. More details are promised in the coming months.

Anthropic adds the pledge to earlier commitments. Its co-founders pledged 80% of their equity at the company's start, and employees have a donation-matching program. The company says the total puts about a fifth of its stock toward "the public good."

Who controls the company

Anthropic's board is steered by the Long-Term Benefit Trust, which holds no economic stake but appoints a majority of directors. After the IPO, the founders are set to hold 50.1% of the votes on major decisions through a special share.

The structure matters here because the fund's gifts would flow from a subsidiary the company owns outright. Anthropic has not said who will run the fund or decide where the money goes.

There is precedent. Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan pledged 99% of their Facebook shares to the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2015, also structured as an LLC. Google committed 1% of its profits and equity to Google.org in 2005 as a division of the company.

The IPO behind the pledge

Anthropic is preparing one of the largest public listings on record. The company is seeking to list as soon as November. The Decoder reported that the offering could raise up to $100 billion at a valuation near $2 trillion, with official filings expected in the next few weeks. The $2 trillion figure remains uncertain: Reuters reported that some investors are considering a lower valuation of around $1.5 trillion, and NBC News cited analysts putting the value above $1 trillion. Calcalist, citing Reuters, estimated that at those valuations a 5% stake would be worth approximately $75 billion to $100 billion.

What Musk has and hasn't said

Musk wrote on X: "Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America. This will be the first of many." He also replied to Anthropic: "I recommend giving the shares directly to the public."

SpaceX closed Monday at $147.96, up about 1%. Outlets put the value of the pledge at different figures depending on the child count and share price used. The LA Times, using census data showing about 73 million children and the $147.96 close, put it at close to $11 billion. NBC News used about 72 million children under 18 and a price near $150 for a total of about $10.8 billion, and The Decoder used roughly 72 million children and a price around $146 for about $10.5 billion. Calcalist estimated roughly $11 billion using about 72 million children. The final cost depends on the share price and the eligible headcount when shares are actually delivered.

Musk held approximately 6.42 billion SpaceX shares as of June. SpaceX went public in June at $135 a share, a $1.77 trillion valuation.

Musk has not said how children would receive or hold the shares, or what the eligibility rules would be. Bloomberg reported that he intends to use Trump Accounts. The Trump administration has seeded those accounts with $1,000 for children born starting in 2025. Musk has not confirmed that route, and SpaceX did not immediately respond to a request for comment on whether the donations would be linked to Trump Accounts or subject to a lockup period.

The skeptics

Some public reaction has focused on who decides what counts as the public good. Anduril cofounder Palmer Luckey asked who gets to define it. AI analyst Andrew Curran said the plan looks like a step toward Anthropic's own form of universal basic income. Gary Marcus, an emeritus NYU professor and self-described AI skeptic, said the company is trying to "curry public favor."

Musk's own record is also part of the discussion. Morning Brew noted that he backed away from a 2021 offer to donate $6 billion to end world hunger, and NBC News noted that he has made bold statements in the past without following through, citing his 2018 announcement that he had "secured" funding to take Tesla private.

The backdrop is public unease. An Associated Press poll published last week found 64% of U.S. adults say AI is developing "too fast," and 8 in 10 want the government to prioritize protecting the workforce. A separate NBC News survey last month found 70% of Americans are more worried than excited about AI. Anthropic CEO Dario Amodei has predicted that AI could eliminate 50% of white-collar work before the end of the decade, while NBC noted that evidence of AI's effect on jobs so far remains mixed.

What comes next

Anthropic's IPO filings are expected within weeks and should show how the fund is described to investors. Stockholders still have to approve the 5% commitment, and the governance rules and top-up triggers are due in the coming months. Musk's pledge is scheduled for next year, with no announced delivery mechanism.