President Donald Trump praised SpaceX president Gwynne Shotwell on Thursday after she and her husband announced an undisclosed SpaceX stock gift to Trump accounts that the president said amounted to $325 million.
“Thank you to the brilliant and highly respected Gwynne Shotwell, and her husband, Robert, for their extreme generosity in helping children to attain the ever magnificent American dream!” Trump wrote on Truth Social, calling it “Their Gift of 325 Million Dollars of SpaceX Stock.”
Shotwell did not put a number on her donation in her own announcement of the stock gift, but if Trump’s $325 million figure holds true, it would make Shotwell one of the most prominent individual supporters of Trump Accounts, a new type of individual retirement account for children, coming at the heels of tech billionaire Michael Dell and his wife Susan, who pledged a total of $6.25 billion to Trump Accounts.
In her announcement on X, Shotwell clarified that her gift goes to children between 11 to 17 who “live in areas with lower average household incomes with a bit more emphasis for those that live near our central Texas home.”
Trump wasn’t the only person that praised the SpaceX president. Fellow Trump Accounts donor Michael Dell lauded Shotwell on X, writing “Gifting SpaceX shares to 2M kids’ TrumpAccounts is legendary generosity. Empowering the next generation with ownership in our future among the stars.”
Trump’s praise for Shotwell came after he had suggested that Elon Musk might contribute SpaceX stock to Trump Accounts. In an interview with CNBC’s Joe Kernan last week, the president responded “Well, I think he will do that,” when asked if Musk will join fellow billionaire donors in helping fund Trump Accounts. Musk has not publicly confirmed such a contribution.
All about the Trump Accounts
The IRS says Trump Accounts are available for children who have not turned 18 before the end of the calendar year in which the account election is made and who have a valid Social Security number.
Seeded with a one-time $1,000 federal contribution for U.S. citizen children born between 2025 through 2028, the accounts went live on the Fourth of July, with Trump ringing the opening bell the following Monday to celebrate.
More than 6 million children have signed up for Trump Accounts since enrollment opened earlier this year and 1.4 million of them are eligible for the $1,000 federal seed deposit, Fortune previously reported. Fortune also reported that for those who don’t qualify for the $1,000, other contributions can come from parents, family members and friends who can give up to $5,000 annually in after-tax dollars for years before the child turns 18.
The Dells’ $6.25 billion contribution gave $250 each to the first 25 million qualifying American children who signed up for Trump Accounts.
“This makes every child a shareholder in the greatest prosperity-creating engine the world has ever known — American capitalism,” Dell wrote in an X post.
