Trump
Accounts: The Defining Policy of America’s 250th Anniversary
Secretary
Scott Bessent, January 28, 2026
Introduction
Thank
you, Speaker Johnson, for that kind introduction. It’s an honor to be here with
all of you.
President
Donald Trump will be remembered for many things:
The
President who enacted the largest tax cut in history for American
citizens.
The
President who rebalanced global trade to the benefit of working families.
The
President who, through simple common sense, saved our country by securing the
border.
In
short, the President who Made America Great Again.
But
arguably his most enduring legacy—the program that will not only transform
lives now but ripple across generations—is why we are here today.
History
will remember President Trump as the leader who brought financial market
opportunity to all American families. It will remember him as the President who
oversaw the largest merger in history between Main Street and Wall Street. And
it will remember him for redefining the social contract through the creation of
a shareholder society.
And
how did he achieve all this? Through Trump Accounts.
Trump
Accounts are among the most significant policy innovations of modern times.
They mark a singular moment in economic history by expanding the
benefits of private ownership and compound growth to all Americans. Today, I
will explain where Trump Accounts came from, how they work, and why they will
render socialist notions moot by making every citizen a shareholder.
The
Origin of Trump Accounts
First,
the origin story. The idea of opening investment accounts for young
Americans first arose in the form of “Baby Bonds” decades ago. But the idea was
flawed because the accounts could be invested only in US government
bonds. President Trump recognized the shortcomings of this idea while also
grasping its promise. So he set out to perfect it.
Working
with some of the most talented businessmen in the country, including Brad
Gerstner and Michael Dell, he pioneered Trump Accounts—investment accounts that
newborn Americans can receive on Day 1. Trump Accounts allow for private
ownership, multiple funding pathways, and direct investment across a broad
swath of the American economy.
Where
President Trump’s predecessors created debt and dependency, President Trump
creates assets and expands ownership. This is a signature characteristic of his
presidency.
How
Trump Accounts Work
With
Trump Accounts, every American child born between January 1, 2025,
and December 31, 2028, is eligible to receive a $1,000 contribution from the
Treasury Department that will be immediately invested in an index fund. To
claim this investment, most families need merely check a box on Form 4547, the
most aptly named tax document of all time. We are just three days into the 2026
tax filing season—and already, approximately 500,000 Americans have elected to
open a Trump Account for their children.
The
compound growth from Treasury’s initial seed funding alone stands to make young
Americans wealthy. Assuming historical growth rates continue, a single $1,000
deposit into a Trump Account at birth should grow to
an estimated amount of at least half a million dollars by the age of
retirement.
The
$1,000 seed from Treasury is exclusive to newborns. But keep in mind that any American
below the age of 18 is also eligible to receive a tax-advantaged Trump Account
to begin saving for the future.
Philanthropists,
family, friends, employers, and states can backfill Trump Accounts for these
children to help them build a strong financial foundation before graduating
high school. Our objective is to provide every American child with a Trump
account. And the men and women in this audience will help make that
possible.
In
addition to the $1,000 seed from Treasury, there are three other channels for
funding Trump Accounts: first, through the donations of parents, friends, and
employers; second, through the generous donations of wealthy Americans and
philanthropic organizations; and third, through donations from state
governments.
Funding
through Family, Friends, and Employers
President
Trump wanted to make it especially easy for family, friends, and employers to
give to Trump Accounts. And he has succeeded in that goal. Donations to a Trump
Account will soon be the best gift a child could ever receive.
Starting
July 4—our nation’s 250th anniversary—family, friends, and employers will be
able to contribute up to $5,000 to each Trump Account each year. By
contributing the maximum amount annually, the Council of Economic Advisers
estimates that a child’s Trump Account could be worth more than $1 million at
age 28 and tens of millions by the age of retirement.
Donations
from employers are essential to bringing the President’s vision to life.
Already, we have seen a large number of US businesses across a wide range of
industries step up to support Trump Accounts.
Companies
like Charles Schwab, Uber, Charter Communications, Bank of New York Mellon,
State Street, Mastercard, Visa, Block, Robinhood, SoFi, Chime, Russel
Investments, and Dell Technologies have all announced that they will match
employee contributions to Trump Accounts in a variety of forms that work best
for their employees. And today, Steak ‘n Shake, Broadcom, Intel, IBM, JP
Morgan, Chipotle, Coinbase, and Comcast all announced that they will offer
matching contributions as well. The President foresees a day where matching
contributions to Trump Accounts will be as integral to an employee benefits
package as a matching 401(k).
Through
Trump Accounts, our President is putting the American Dream within reach of
every citizen, no matter the circumstances of birth. When young Americans turn
18, they can use their Trump Accounts to keep saving for their retirement. Or
they can use them to help purchase a new home or further their education—two
hallmarks of the American Dream.
Funding
through Philanthropists and Charitable Organizations
The
next means of funding is through generous donations from wealthy Americans and
charitable organizations. Consider how Trump Accounts are revolutionizing not
only investing but philanthropy as well.
The
United States is the most generous country in the history of the world. In 2024
alone, our citizens gave over half a trillion dollars to charity. That’s more
than the GDP of advanced countries like Singapore, Austria, and the UAE.
Many
Americans want to give back to their fellow citizens through charitable
donations. But our country has long lacked a platform of private ownership from
birth that facilitated philanthropy at-scale direct to American children. Not
anymore.
Trump
Accounts are the most capital-efficient form of philanthropy ever
devised.
Typically,
middlemen, overhead costs, and administrative expenses dilute the money
Americans donate to charity. But Trump Accounts remove those obstacles entirely
to put money directly in the hands of American children. That’s why
America’s savviest capital allocators have devoted enormous sums of wealth to
seeding Trump Accounts.
Michael
and Susan Dell led the way by pledging to donate $6.25 billion of their own
money to help fund Trump Accounts for 25 million children under the age of 10.
Ray and Barbara Dalio then followed suit by pledging $75 million to help fund
Trump Accounts for more than 300,000 children in Connecticut.
The
Dalios were among the first to join “The 50 State Challenge”—a special
initiative Treasury has launched to rally the nation’s philanthropists around a
common cause. As the President said in his remarks earlier today, the 50 State
Challenge is a crucial element of this revolutionary program. Expect to see
more philanthropists adopting states in the months to come as the
Administration prepares to launch Trump Accounts on the Fourth of July.
Funding
through States
The
final way of funding Trump Accounts is through state governments.
The
administration has been working closely with a number of governors to determine
the best way states can work with the federal government to expand access to
Trump Accounts to as many children as possible. States are the laboratories of
our democracy, and their experiments with Trump Accounts will surface the best
methods for funding over time.
Why
Trump Accounts Mark A Singular Moment in Economic History
At
their core, Trump Accounts represent the triumph of capitalism over
socialism.
Socialism
left in its wake a trail of economic ruin, all in pursuit of the belief that
abolishing private ownership would lead to greater equality and human
flourishing. In fact, the opposite was true.
The
last century of economic history showed us that the answer was never to abolish
private ownership; it was to democratize it. To protect, strengthen,
and expand it to as many people as possible so that everyone can
benefit from the prosperity only capitalism can provide.
Trump
Accounts do exactly that. They collapse the distinction between earners and
owners by making everyone an owner—all while keeping ownership private. In the
decades-long contest between capitalism and socialism, this is the Trump
card.
Redefining
the Social Contract
Through
Trump Accounts, our President is creating an ownership economy where all
citizens become shareholders in America’s wealth. Today, 38% of American adults
do not own stocks. But with Trump accounts, over time, we can get that number
down to zero.
I
have talked in the past about the importance of promoting Parallel
Prosperity—an era of economic expansion where Wall Street and Main Street grow
together. But the beauty of Trump Accounts is that prosperity no longer runs
parallel; it fuses together. Under Trump Accounts, Wall Street’s success
becomes Main Street’s success and vice versa. This is the greatest merger in
world history, the merger of Wall Street and Main Street. And it will forever
change the relationship Americans have with their own economy.
Trump
Accounts represent a fundamental redefinition of the social contract. They
offer a radically new platform that returns us to a social contract anchored in
individual ownership where everyone starts life on an investing journey.
Creating
Laboratories of Financial Literacy
Trump
Accounts also create a real-time laboratory of financial literacy for all
Americans.
Consider
an alarming statistic: Approximately two-thirds of Generation Z Americans fail
to answer more than half of the basic financial literacy questions on the
Nation’s Personal Finance Index. We need to better educate the generation of
Americans being born now. Trump Accounts will give us an opportunity to correct
course by instilling financial literacy in America’s youth in a way no book,
test, or school curriculum could.
Trump
Accounts will achieve this goal by providing students with a hands-on education
in the power of compound growth. Students with Trump Accounts will be able to
watch their investment accounts compound in real time—from a value of a couple
thousand dollars in kindergarten to potentially hundreds of thousands of
dollars.
Importantly,
students will not be able to access their accounts during this time. Keeping
accounts locked until age 18 will require Americans to learn the art of
long-term savings and compound growth. States, philanthropists, and charitable
organizations can also tie funding of individual Trump Accounts to students
passing financial literacy courses. This flexibility creates space for states,
philanthropies, and educators to innovate and identify what works best in
building financial skills.
Conclusion
Three
pillars of America’s social contract are embedded in the Declaration of
Independence: “Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.” Few know that
Jefferson borrowed this phrase from John Locke, who famously underscored the
centrality of “life, liberty, and property.”
Property
and the pursuit of happiness, in other words, are deeply intertwined—and for
our Founding Fathers, they were one and the same. Property, or put another
way, ownership is essential to dignity and human flourishing.
This was the ideal our nation was founded on in 1776. And it is the ideal our
nation is being re-founded on in 2026.
In
that sense, Trump Accounts are the defining policy of America’s 250th anniversary.
By expanding equity ownership to all citizens, President Trump is restoring the
promise of our Founding, revitalizing the social contract, and helping secure
American prosperity for the next 250 years. All families can participate and own
part of the American Dream. And with your help, we will succeed.
Whether
you are a philanthropist, a family member, or an employer, all of you here will
play a critical role in this effort. So join us in growing economic
opportunity, future-proofing capitalism, and carrying the promise of the
Founding forward for the next century. Join us by investing in Trump
Accounts.
Thank
you.
https://home.treasury.gov/news/press-releases/sb0372
Comments
The
original incentive for Europeans to migrate to America in the 1600s included
the right to own land.
Norb
Leahy, Dunwoody GA Tea Party Leader
