Donald Trump rang the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq on Monday as he touted the launch of “Trump accounts” — federally-backed investment accounts for American children.
Flanked by Cabinet officials, fund benefactors Michael and Susan Dell and a group of children in the Oval Office, Trump rang a replica of the bell placed on the Resolute Desk at 9:30 am ET as the trading floors opened.
"With the ringing of the opening bell for the stock market, those accounts will now begin to grow right along with our booming economy, and I really believe we’re going to have the biggest boom of all,” Trump declared from behind a lectern in the Oval Office. “Between individual contributions and the seed funds, $800 million in new capital will be invested in the stock market for America's children this week."
Michael Dell, the founder of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan, were hailed by Trump on Monday for pledging $6.25 billion for the accounts, while there have been separate pledges by billionaires including investor Ray Dalio and SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell, who said Monday that she would donate stock in the Elon Musk-led company to the accounts.
Trump thanked the Dells and publicly proclaimed, ‘Go and buy a Dell,” sending the stock rising from an opening of $395 to $427 by an hour later.
“We’re giving this money to children so they can have a good life,” Trump added. “Parents, loved ones, churches and generous companies and individuals will be able to contribute funds to these accounts to grow throughout the childs’ life. And again, if we have a good market, like we do now, they’re going to become-- actually, very rich. They’ll have hundreds of thousands of dollars.”
All American children born after January 1, 2025 with valid Social Security numbers are eligible for the accounts, which will receive a one-time starting boost of $1,000 in seed money from the federal government. The accounts are invested in the stock market and are expected to grow in value before children can access them at age 18 for the purposes of tuition, buying a house or other needs.
Parents can contribute up to $2,500 to the accounts before taxes annually, and the administration is also working to secure investments from major private donors for the funds.
Trump told reporters at his event that he thought linking the accounts to the stock market would encourage children to see the business world with a positive view, contrasting it to what he described as “communism” he claims is being pushed by progressive Democratic candidates who recently won a slate of races in New York and Colorado.
“It's going to teach children to be entrepreneurial as opposed to the threat of communism that you're seeing a lot,” claimed Trump.
Other children and families are encouraged to participate in the program as well, even if the guidelines put them outside of eligibility for the federal government’s $1,000 contributions. Philanthropist Michael Dell and his wife Susan announced donations of $6.25 billion to fund accounts of those who aren’t eligible for the initial contributions, and were present for the launch of the program on Monday.
“To every business leader out there who hasn’t already joined us, please join us,” Dell implored his colleagues in the tech fields on Monday.
Yearly contributions to the accounts are capped at $5,000, but that doesn’t include funds that can be added to that total from outside sources, including state, federal and philanthropic sources.
Only babies born during the calendar years of the Trump administration are current eligible to receive the $1,000 starting seed money, but that program could be theoretically extended by future administrations. The Dells’ contributions will fund children outside of that window, ages 10 and under, with $250 each, living in zip codes with median incomes under $150,000. A handful of other wealthy investors have also set up smaller donations through the program.
Two blue states and the District of Columbia are already piloting similar programs, and under the Biden administration the federal government expanded (with help from Congress) the Child Tax Credit during the 2021 tax year, a means of providing relief to families during the Covid pandemic. Progressives argued that tapering off those benefits contributed to a decline in Joe Biden’s popularity during the latter half of his presidency.
Trump’s launch of his “Trump accounts” comes after he greatly expanded the GOP’s platform for families and parents during the 2024 election season, making it part of his economic agenda and embracing policies typically seen as alien to fiscal conservatives and opponents of government “handouts”. At the centerpoint of that evolution was a call for the federal government to force insurance companies to cover family planning and fertility options including in vitro fertilization (IVF), or to see those options covered for all Americans by other means.
His second presidency has fallen short on that agenda so far, but in October of 2025 the White House announced that it had secured a deal with drugmakers to make some IVF treatments more affordable.
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