Historic, and that's really what it is. A step to ensure every American child has a fair shot at the American dream. Today, I'm pleased to announce that every single eligible minor child in America has now been automatically enrolled in a Trump account. So last summer, I signed the great big beautiful bill delivering the largest tax cuts in American history. And that included in there, approved by Republicans. I don't know if we had any Democrat votes. I think not. They don't vote for anything, but including the Trump accounts. And under this program, the US government is automatically creating a tax-free investment account for every child to grow over the course of their lives and to be used for their benefit after they turn 18. So, if all goes well, which I think it will, they'll end up being quite rich by the time they're 18 and then 21 and as time goes by.
I want to thank Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, Commissioner of the Social Security Administration, and CEO of the Internal Revenue Service, Frank Bisignano, and Senator Ted Cruz. They've been fantastic, the three of them. Amazing. I also want to express my gratitude to an exceptional couple, truly an extraordinary couple, Michael and Susan Dell, who made one of the largest private donations at any time, all time, for anything: $6.25 billion into the Trump accounts to take care of thousands and thousands of children all over our country. And I want to thank also Brad Gerstner, who also donated tens of millions of dollars. Thank you, Brad. Susan, thank you. Michael, wherever you may be — he's right here. Thank you, Mike. He was missing you, Michael. I didn't like that. But I just want to thank you. What a job. What a job you've done. And you started it. They started it before it was fashionable. Now it's very — everyone's saying good things. I'm even hearing Democrat senators stand up and say the Trump accounts is fantastic. I may not like Trump, but I like the Trump accounts. I can't believe it's so good. You hear your colleagues. I have not heard anybody speak badly of it. It's pretty amazing.
Since launching in July, nearly 8 million accounts have been created in three months. With today's announcement, we're building on that success by 70 million accounts for children across America, and they'll all be enrolled into the Trump accounts. And since July 4th, over $4.5 billion have been deposited in Trump accounts. And much of that has come from very generous Brad, Susan, Michael, and others. Some of the biggest companies in America giving hundreds of millions of dollars. I urge all parents to download the official Trump account app to claim their children's account or begin managing and contributing to it today. It's really amazing. It also teaches people a little bit about entrepreneurship and watching your account grow. But very simply, this money is your child's future. And in the old days, your child would hit 18 and there's nothing. They don't have any money. And now they'll be potentially very rich.
Loved ones, churches, and generous companies and individuals are all able to contribute funds to these accounts to help get children off to a strong start in life. More than 70 companies have also committed to Trump accounts, and many for hundreds of millions of dollars, including Uber, Intel, Nvidia, Steak and Shake, many, many companies, too many to name. I'm calling on all employees all across America to follow their lead and make matching Trump account contributions. It's a benefit for every American worker. It's been incredible. Before launching Trump accounts, 38% of Americans did not own a stock. 38%. Now, every member of the next generation will have an investment account and will benefit from our booming economy. And we started this when I first came into office. Michael, it would have been great because the markets have gone from — well, we're at an all-time high. In fact, yesterday we hit another all-time high. I think it's 84 times now. We're at 84 times since a little bit more than a year and a half. We had all-time high stock markets. We should have started this two years ago. If we started it two years ago, that would have been great. But now every member of the next generation will have an investment account and will benefit from this great economy. I guess the greatest economy we've ever had.
Definitely since the election, US stock markets have set all-time records and they're going and records in many different fashions. Instead of Americans sharing in the misery of communism or whatever it is they're out there promoting, which is, you know, I'm watching it all the time. They're communists, but they say, 'Well, we're really not communist really.' But their policies are that of a communist socialist. It won't work. And it's been proven over thousands of years by different names. It doesn't work. I'd now like to ask Secretary Bessent to say a few words explaining how the claim and this incredible account works very quickly, and then Frank, I'll ask you to say a few words, and Ted, Michael, and Susan, and Brad. And we can go quickly because everyone knows what's happening with the Trump accounts. It's been written about so favorably. It's been so successful and these beautiful young children are extremely rich. They are now and they will be in the future extremely rich. So they have something to look forward to. But this has been a great — I think it's a passion of love. It's something that we all love doing and we've done it well and it's far — I think we can say, Brad, far greater than we ever had any dreams of because now we're talking about many, many millions of young people. Thank you very much. Go ahead, please, Scott.
It's an honor to be here today, and as we create the ownership account for every American family via the Trump accounts, every family, every child deserves to have a piece of the American dream. And these Trump accounts are just that. A child born during President Trump's presidency, Treasury will seed the accounts with $1,000 for children 18 and under. We have great philanthropists like Susan, Michael, Brad, and many, many others who are putting in substantial gifts, as the president said, many corporations, many foundations, and we think that this is the beginning of the ownership society. I was talking to these great young people earlier. They already know about compounding. They understand how the stock market works. They are excited to do it. I think this is going to be a real-time financial literacy project. It is the culmination of a lot of hard work for a lot of people. Senator Cruz, Brad, the Dells, the president, Frank, and Kevin have been great partners, and we are looking forward to administering this at Treasury and to watch these accounts grow.
And by the way, I didn't introduce the man here, the most important person. He's been predicting this great economy. I'm very — I apologize to you, Governor. I didn't introduce you. I could say a couple of words before. Frank, go ahead.
Sir, I just want to say that this is something that this team and you prioritized from the beginning because these kids — we were just talking and they were so excited about it — and to learn that each one of them owns a share in one of the biggest 500 companies in America means that they understand that, you know, when the US wins, they win too. And that's something that hasn't always been obvious to our political opponents. Thank you.
You're doing a great job, Kevin. Frank,
Thank you, sir. And thank you, President, for giving us the opportunity to serve here. I'm blessed and honored with the people we're around who made this happen. These are founders. And right now, to give Americans an understanding of where we are as we speak, more than 10 million accounts out of 70 million are already funded with $4.5 billion. By this weekend, you will see that move to $7 billion with more than 25 million — that's 25 million American children who now have a piece of capitalism. One of the groundbreaking startups of all time. This is a startup that will have 70 million children in it, all receiving money, right? And we will communicate with every one of them, right? We have access to every family in America and we will make sure they know the piece that they have of capitalism that many would have never seen before without the great work of the president, the great work of the secretary, my friends for a super long time. And it's an unbelievable honor to be here with Michael Dell and Susan, who have founded this as seed money for this startup. Brad as an innovator here, Kevin driving it, Senator Cruz. But I think it's really important for people to understand that every American child will hear from us to ensure they see their account. If you want to go look at it right now, you could go to the app store and see it there. Right? It is right now in the app store outperforming everything. This is President Trump's innovation at work, fighting for American children as he always has, and we're winning. God bless. Thank you.
Thank you, Frank. And I have to say that Frank took the biggest salary cut perhaps of all time. He ran one of the very big great companies and he was paid like $35 million a year and now we're paying him $175,000 a year. Would you say that's good, Peter? But he wanted the job. You know why? Because he loves the country. But he may have — well, I don't know. Maybe there's somebody out there. But to the best of my knowledge, you took the biggest salary cut.
I made more than 200. I thought I made more than 200,000.
Yeah. I wanted to keep it below the 200. A lot of people think 200's a lot. So, I wanted to keep it a little bit below. Anyway, Ted, please.
Mr. President, congratulations. This is unquestionably going to be one of the biggest parts of your legacy as president. And on July 4th, the Trump accounts were launched, our nation's 250th birthday. It's a big, big deal. And today it is a massive day that your administration is opening a personal investment account for every single kid in America. Over 70 million kids. Every mom and dad out there, your child now has a personal investment account that the Treasury Department has set up for you. And that personal investment account, if you have a newborn baby, $1,000 has already been invested in that account that goes straight to the stock market. And we also have incredibly generous philanthropists, Michael and Susan. $6.25 billion. They've given $250 to 25 million kids across America. We have these kids here, sixth and seventh graders. You guys now, each of you has an investment account and you're going to be owners. You guys now own part of Apple. You own part of Dell Computers. You own part of McDonald's. Next time you go order a Big Mac, you should walk in and say, 'Look, I own the place.' That is powerful. And what's amazing is you start investing. And if you keep investing and it grows and you leave it in there and keep investing and your family keeps investing, as you get older, you will get hundreds of thousands. And if you keep investing, literally millions of dollars in these accounts, you are owners, which is a big, big deal. And I'll tell you what's cool. Your administration designed the app. It's a beautiful app you can download from the Trump account store, but it makes it really easy for anyone to contribute to your account. You have a little QR code that you can send to your next birthday party. You know, your aunt Susie might get you an ugly sweater. And you might say to Aunt Susie, instead of the ugly sweater, how about put 50 bucks in my Trump account? And you can pull it up on your phone and look at it and see it growing. And we are creating a whole new generation of capitalists. And I want to say your team, Scott and Frank and Kevin, have done an extraordinary job bird-dogging this. And today is an historic moment of legacy for every kid in America.
You know, I wanted to ride with Social Security being fully invested in the stock market in the first month of my first year. So, 2016, had we done that, Social Security would right now be the richest entity anywhere in the world had we done that. But I was met with tremendous criticism by the Democrats and some Republicans because, you know, they felt it was risky. But had we done that — because literally if you look back you'll see — I wanted to do it so badly. I just felt the country had such upward potential and we didn't do that. Can you imagine if we did? People wouldn't be talking about Social Security difficulty, but it would have been great. But what we're doing in a way is we're doing a version of it with children. Yep. With young children. And they're going to be riding the markets and it's going to be a great thing for them to watch. So, it's great. Michael and Susan, please.
Well, thank you, Mr. President. It's a great honor for us to be back here in the White House. You know, I started a company, Dell Technologies, with $1,000. And in America, small beginnings can become extraordinary things. And that's why we came here last year and we committed to children in America that we were going to contribute $6.25 billion, $250 to 25 million Trump accounts for children in America. And I'm very pleased to let you know today that we have funded 10 million of those accounts as of this morning. And by the end of this week, we will have funded 25 million of those accounts, fulfilling the promise that we made to American children late last year. Now, $250 is just the beginning. If you have a child under 18 with a social security number, you should claim their account. If you can add to the account, you should add to the account. And you should teach your children about compounding, about investing, and about the benefits of capitalism. These children will grow up as owners. They will also be the generation that creates the next great companies and innovations in our country. And now we have 25 million children as owners. We've invested in their future and we've invested in America's future and we are so excited to see what they build. Thank you. Do you have anything?
Over the past month, as our contribution has reached millions of children's accounts, Michael and I have heard from so many parents and kids and grandparents with these beautiful letters that have truly moved us. Children have told us that they want to become entrepreneurs. They want to become nurses, doctors, engineers. They want to build their own companies someday. We've heard from parents and grandparents who've shared what it means to them to know that there's an investment in their child's future. These things are so wonderful and so important. It's, you know, it's not just the money that matters. That does matter. But knowing that someone believes in you and your future, that matters just as much. So to every child across the country, these accounts are for you. We believe in you and we want you to dream big because we know you can make your dreams come true. So, parents and grandparents, please claim your child's account. These accounts are ready. They're waiting for you and they have money in them. So, claim your child's accounts and start adding money to their accounts and preserving a wonderful future for them.
What a good job that was. Michael, is she thinking about running for office? Huh? No, I'll endorse her immediately. This is my complete and total endorsement. Good job. Thank you both. Appreciate it very much. Brad, please.
Well, sir, what an extraordinary day for the country. I don't think it's an overstatement to say that this is the biggest transformation in the social contract and the social fabric of America for these kids since 1935 when Social Security was passed. Every single child in this country forevermore, not for the next four years, forevermore, will start off life with an investment account and they are going to compound as shareholders in the upside of America. Every Republican district in the country, every Democrat district in the country, every state, city block, rural road — I grew up in rural Indiana — every one of those kids who felt left out and left behind by the prosperity of America. You said to us, sir, the main street agenda is we have to get everybody into the game to share in the upside of the country. They said it couldn't be done. You can't possibly create 70 million accounts automatically for every child in the country. We persevered and today is the day we mark the celebration. 70 million accounts and by the end of this week over 25 million accounts funded $250 and all that money compounding in the upside of the country in the S&P 500. And it's not just that moms and dads are going wild with these QR codes. We have hundreds of millions of dollars, $10, $5, $50 at a time being contributed into these accounts. And when the money goes in on a Monday, by Tuesday it's invested in the S&P 500, compounding in the upside of America. We have so many companies that want to participate, it's hard to keep up. Not just the largest companies in America. I'm talking retailers and restaurants, landscapers, and contractors. They want to adopt their little leagues, their schools, the Boys and Girls Club like we did in Philly or Newark. Everybody wants to get involved in helping these kids compound into the next generation. And then of course philanthropists, and Michael and Susan set the bar for what it means to give back in this country. No foundation in the middle taking a scrape. A one-page donor agreement. You wire your money to the Treasury of the United States and they send it out to all the kids. And the list of philanthropists who want to adopt zip codes across America, in Texas, in Indiana, you know, in California, is extraordinarily long. Adopting cities and zip codes. Today is the day every child forevermore will be a shareholder in this country. It would not have happened without your leadership. So, thank you very much.
Thank you all. Great honor. It's a great — Do you have coins yet? Did you get a coin? Come on. Come on over here. This is what everybody wants. They want this. Unless you don't want it. Would you like that collector's item? Would you like it? Take a pen. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you so much. Such a gentleman. How do you like that? You know what that is? An eagle. Okay, take that, too. We'll make sure you all — come on over here, everybody. Come on over here. Come on over. Whoever didn't get it, enjoy it. Come on over. Nice to see you. Thank you very much. It's a nice one, right? Even the grown-ups, they're back there. They want Frank and said, 'Where's my coin?' Got a couple. Another day. Another coin. Okay. Anybody didn't get — You got them. Okay, that's great. Thank you all very much. You stand up or stay there. You're so good looking. Stay there. The press will — they can admire you. It's the way they used to look.
Congratulations on setting these kids like you up in the future. I would love to ask him a question, but I want to ask you a serious one first. I'm sorry you kids have to listen to this, but President Trump, do you have further comment on Merrick Garland's FBI tracking of First Lady Melania and your then-minor son Barron, as well as Susan Wild? What does that say about the DOJ under Biden?
Terrible. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. It was weaponization of government. I thank you for the question, actually. It's a disgrace. Merrick Garland and a whole group of thugs that preceded us. They weaponized government. They were tracking my wife, my son who's a minor, a very young minor and a very good person. Nobody's ever seen anything like it. They did the raid on Mar-a-Lago. They did things to people that were associated with us that nobody should have been able to do. And it all came out just recently in the files and it's great that it came out. But so now people understand what we went through. These were bad people. These are bad, sick people, actually. Very sick people. Deranged Jack Smith. He's a sick guy. He lied before Congress. He lied all over the place. His whole life is a lie. And so many others that were just a very bad — it's a very bad group of people. They were being led by a man that didn't lead. He didn't know what was — he didn't know. He possibly didn't know what was going on. I think he did. I think he had a mean streak, but not smart, but mean. So, it's a shame. Thank you for the question. But,
President Trump, is the plague in Russia a bioweapon?
Well, we don't think so. We're going to find out soon enough, but we don't think so. And if you listen to them, it's under control. You know, people have said that before about other things. So, we hope it is very sophisticated, very smart, and they're saying it's very much under control. So, we hope not. Peter,
We've heard this before a couple years ago during your first term. Are you getting the same vibe right now from Russia that you got from China at the start of COVID?
Well, China didn't say much and Russia's not saying much either, but they do say they have it very much under control.
Mr. President, on Trump accounts. So now with nearly 70 million accounts created, how do you expect this to impact Americans' perception of involvement in capitalism, and also do you expect it to diminish the appeal of socialist policies, especially in our children's generation?
What a nice question, or what a good question. I think it's going to be fantastic. Nobody's ever seen these young children. They are children. I guess I can use that term. You have to be careful. Sometimes you call somebody a child who's about six months too old to be called and you suffer the wrath of the press. But these young beautiful children are going to be watching their accounts. They're going to be seeing what's going on. They're going to be, as Senator Cruz said, they'll be eating a McDonald's hamburger and say, 'I own a part of this. I want good service. I own a part of this company.' But I think it's great and I think it does have an impact. There are those that say this is one of the most important things that I will have — that this administration with these incredible people will have done. We've done some amazing things, but this is really something we're very proud of. And yeah, I mean it should really — long term I think it'll have a huge effect on exactly what you said, socialism, communism. This is really the alternative and it's a great alternative.
And just a follow-up for Mr. and Mrs. Dell, if you're fine with it. So first of all, thank you for the $250 on behalf of our 10-month-old. So can you talk to us about what personally motivated you in the first place to work with the Trump administration, and what's your message to other entrepreneurs and philanthropists who might be considering whether they should put their wealth into these Trump accounts for our children?
Well, you know, Brad called me in 2021 and told me about this idea. I talked to Susan about it. We immediately thought it was a fabulous idea. And to be clear, it's not a red idea or a blue idea, or, you know, it's a red, white, blue idea. And what we believed is that the most important investment you can make is in children. And that's why we set up a foundation focused on children back in 1999. And when we heard about this idea, we thought, 'Wow, this would be not only great for newborns, but it would be a platform for families and employers and philanthropists to immediately and directly impact the futures for these children.' And Brad and I and Susan, we've had many discussions with other philanthropists. I think there will be a number of additional announcements coming in the weeks and months to come. And you know, ultimately we couldn't be more excited about what this will become over time as children start to understand the power of compounding and what all this means for their futures.
I just want to add, I think that this is clearly the most important, impactful initiative that America's children in America really has ever known. I mean, this is going to affect everyone's lives, not just children's lives, but parents and grandparents who worry about these children and work hard to take care of these children. So this is something that's going to touch everyone.
After this week's leaked recordings from Ken Paxton, do you have any regrets about endorsing his —
No, no, no, not at all. He was a great attorney general. I think he'll be a great senator. Ken Paxton was a great — he was considered the best, or certainly one of the few best, but the best attorney general of the whole country. And no, I would have no regrets at all.
Chris Liddell, about their potential conflicts of interest with some of their —
