SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Monday that she and her husband would donate a portion of their SpaceX stock to Trump Accounts for more than two million American children.
Gwynne Shotwell and her husband are gifting SpaceX stock to children aged 11 to 17 in lower-income areas, worth more than $320 million
Bloomberg / Getty Images
SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell said Monday that she and her husband would donate a portion of their SpaceX stock to Trump Accounts for more than two million American children.
"We have been fortunate in our careers and hope this gift encourages the next generation to continue the journey of enabling humanity to live and fly amongst the stars," Shotwell wrote in a post on X $TWTR.
Recipients are children between 11 and 17 years old whose households fall below average income thresholds, with a geographic lean toward families in the region surrounding the couple's home in central Texas. Based on SpaceX shares closing at $162 ahead of the holiday weekend, Barron's valued the total pledge at over $324 million. IPO filings showed Shotwell owned about 12.6 million SpaceX shares.
The announcement comes days after President Donald Trump said during a CNBC interview on Thursday that he expected SpaceX CEO Elon Musk to donate company stock to Trump Accounts. Neither Musk nor SpaceX have weighed in publicly. In the same interview, Trump described his relationship with Musk as strong, calling their past disagreement a "little dispute" over electric vehicle policy.
Exactly how the stock transfer will be executed is an open question, The Wall Street Journal noted. Treasury guidance issued last week acknowledged that stock donations can flow into the accounts, yet offered no explanation of the mechanics, a notable gap given that the underlying statute mandates index-tracking investments. At launch, all contributions are invested in the State Street $STT SPDR Portfolio S&P 500 ETF.
Trump Accounts opened for contributions on Monday, with the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq $NDAQ ringing their opening bells from the Oval Office to mark the occasion. Eligibility extends to any American child under 18 who holds a Social Security number, and the accounts carry tax advantages for participants. Children whose birthdays fall within the 2025-to-2028 window receive a $1,000 deposit from the Treasury at the outset; once the account holder reaches adulthood at 18, the vehicle shifts into a retirement-oriented structure.
Shotwell joins a list of executives and companies backing the program. Among other backers, the Dell $DELL family has put forward $6.25 billion, Micron $MU Technology has earmarked $250 million, and a cohort of major employers — BlackRock $BLK, Intel $INTC, and JPMorgan $JPM Chase among them — have committed to doubling the Treasury's opening $1,000 contribution. More than 6 million children were enrolled in Trump Accounts as of early June.
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