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On Sunday, AI giant Anthropic pledged to give 5% of its shares to a philanthropic fund, a massive commitment which certainly looks generous at first glance.
But that stake goes into a fund Anthropic’s bosses control, which prioritizes woke Effective Altruist causes — such as companies that spend millions ensuring shrimp farms use stun guns to kill the seafood, as it is more humane.
Hours later, Elon Musk offered a different approach — giving American children a stake in SpaceX. “Next year, I will give one of my SpaceX shares to every kid in America,” he announced on X.
The giveaway will be worth nearly $11 billion at current market value and distributed through Trump Accounts, according to sources.
The contrast highlights a hot question under debate in Silicon Valley: Should trillion-dollar companies devote their incredible windfall to pet causes chosen by their leaders, or help the next generation build wealth of its own?
For an industry warning that AI could replace workers and upend their futures, giving people a financial stake in that future seems a far better response.
Brad Gerstner, a founder, chairman, and CEO of Altimeter Capital and the architect of Trump Accounts, told me that Musk’s donation is just “the tip of the iceberg” — in terms of charitable contributions the accounts could receive and the number of Americans the donations could reach.
By the end of 2027, Gerstner estimates private contributions to Trump Accounts could total $100 billion, as other Silicon Valley leaders join the likes of Susan and Michael Dell, Ray Dalio, and Gwynne Shotwell.
But an even more significant development is who could soon qualify.
Right now, the accounts are only for citizens under 18. All money deposited in them is invested in the stock market, giving it a chance to grow. Once they turn 18, accountholders get access to the cash and can use it for various endeavors — paying for college, buying a first home, starting a business, or leaving it to continue growing.
Gerstner said he is working to expand the remit of Trump Accounts to make it accessible to anyone under 40. That updated legislation could come within months. Similarly, those accounts could be used for retirement, education or starting a business. Gerstner says the proposed legislation would also seek to make funding permanent.
At a time when Americans are anxious about AI, scared of its impact on their jobs and disillusioned with capitalism, the move could help adults invest in the future. And it does so without creating welfare-state dependency.
“Welfare checks do not compound, but ownership compounds,” Gerstner explains. “You don’t help people by creating more dependency.”
“It sucks to not even know how to get in the game… But with these accounts, everyone has a million dollars within their grasp,” he adds. “It makes sure every kid has a stake in the economy.”
Contrast the empowering approach of Trump Accounts with Anthropic: The AI company plans to make nonprofit donations and possibly direct distributions. How much goes to each and who qualifies remains to be seen, but all of it would be decided by Anthropic.
In so doing, the company is perpetuating the broken, left-wing philanthropic industrial complex that moves around huge amounts of money without actually improving any lives. Most of that complex is made up of woke NGOs that funnel as many millions into the pockets of their leaders, advisors and consultants as they spend on doing good.
Interestingly, if Anthropic or any other company wants to distribute shares to children or young adults, it would have to take Musk’s approach.
Trump Accounts are the only existing infrastructure for distributing stock shares to young Americans. But the prospect of supporting a “Trump” account — particularly a few weeks before a contentious midterm election — is enough to push away many companies.
To be sure, there is a valid concern that this relationship between private companies and Trump Accounts could create moral hazards. Might the government be less likely to oppose a merger involving a company which has donated billions to the accounts and future of Americans, or advantage it in other ways?
But Trump or not, the reality is that giving Americans a stake in the future and a sense of ownership in the American dream is an important first step in allowing them to capitalize on it.