Dell founder gives $6B to Trump’s kid investment accounts raising the amount families can receive

Dell founder Michael Dell and his wife Susan have pledged $6.25 billion from their own wealth to help fund President Donald Trump’s bank accounts for children, benefitting roughly 25 million kids.

Trump unveiled the massive donation alongside the Dells in the Roosevelt Room on Tuesday, calling their gift “one of the largest private donations in American history, which will directly benefit the next generation of American children.”

The president said the accounts, which were established in the One Big Beautiful Bill tax cut and spending package passed along party lines by the GOP-led Congress earlier this year, would be “the first … real trust funds for every American child, allowing family members, employers, corporations, generous donors to contribute money that will be invested and grow over the course of a child’s life to be used for their benefit after they turn 18.”

“These accounts will track the overall stock market and will be 100% private property controlled by the child’s guardians,” Trump said, adding that the technology entrepreneur’s gift was being made in honor of America’s semiquincentennial celebrations set for next year.

“This will give millions of dollars, millions of children, children, middle class families, a stake in American prosperity, a benefit from the rising stock market, and a better shot at the American dream,” he added.

The government is set to launch the tax-deferred investment accounts for any eligible American children starting next year.

The accounts will benefit children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028, each of whom will receive $1,000 from the federal government. The Dells’ donation allows children up to 10 years old to receive an additional $250, if eligible by virtue of their parents’ household income and their ZIP code.

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hailed the accounts as a “major change in philanthropy and for American working families” and “the merging of President Trump’s agenda of parallel prosperity, Main Street meets Wall Street.”

“I think we will look back on today and know that these Trump accounts, they have started a new age of the capitalism and market interest for the whole country,” Bessent said.

Hours ahead of the president’s White House announcement, the Dells revealed in a video posted on X that they would make the massive investment in “Trump accounts” to expand the amount of seed money children can receive.

“We’ve seen what happens when a child gets even a small financial head start; their world expands,” Michael Dell said

Michael Dell had previously signaled he would invest in “Trump accounts.” In the video, he encouraged other leaders to invest in the retirement accounts.

“To philanthropists, companies, community leaders, if you want to be part of something truly meaningful, for our kids, for our communities, for our country – join us,” Michael Dell said in the video.

The donation marks one of the largest philanthropic investments ever to go directly to Americans.

In a statement, White House Deputy Press Secretary Kush Desai hailed the investment accounts for kids as “a revolutionary investment by the federal government into the next generation of American children.”

“It’s also President Trump’s call to action for American businesses and philanthropists to do their part, too – Michael and Susan Dell’s $6 billion investment into America’s children is the first of many announcements to come for America’s children,” Desai added.

The idea for accessible investment accounts arose from Brad Gerstner, the CEO of Altimeter Capital. Gerstenr set up a nonprofit, Invest America, to push for the creation of bank accounts in which the federal government would give $1,000 to each child, according to the New York Times.

Michael Dell, a friend of Gerstner, liked the idea and joined the initiative.

Gerstner initially reached out to the Biden administration for support on the investment accounts, but failed to rally enough support among members of Congress. Ultimately, the Trump administration was receptive to the idea, and Republican Senator Ted Cruz introduced the “Invest America Act.”

The accounts are set to open next year – though there are few details about the process for opening one and how it will invest in the stock market.

To qualify, a baby needs a Social Security number. Only those born between 2025 and 2028 will receive the government’s $1,000 starting funds. Parents and others may contribute up to $5,000 per year until the child turns 18 years old.