President Donald Trump on Wednesday hailed what he called the “historic” enrollment of 70 million American children into his Trump Accounts, calling them “a step to ensure every American child has a fair shot at the American Dream.”
The administration announced that beginning on Oct. 1, the Treasury Department automatically enrolled 60 million children under age 18 in the president’s signature investment accounts in addition to the 10 million whose parents opted into the accounts following their official release on July 4.
“With automatic enrollment now complete, every American child under the age of 18 has a Trump Account in their name, making it easier than ever for families to participate,” White House spokeswoman Taylor Rogers said in a statement.
According to the administration, $2.2 billion has been deposited into the accounts since their release on July 4. The Treasury Department pledged to pour a one-time $1,000 seed contribution for each child born between Jan. 1, 2025 and Dec. 31, 2028. Children born outside of that range will not receive the seed contribution from the Treasury — but their family members and acquaintances are able to deposit money into the accounts. Several corporations — including Uber and Nvidia — and philanthropists — such as Dell Technologies CEO Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, who seeded the program with a $6.25 billion contribution, also donated to the accounts.
Trump, encircled by Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, Economic Council Director Kevin Hassett, and the Dells, predicted, “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.”
Trump said in January when he announced the initiative that a number of major U.S. companies pledged to match the federal government’s initial contribution for eligible employees’ children, including Charles Schwab, Robinhood, SoFi, Uber, Charter Communication and BNY, and that several others had agreed to make contributions.
In a notice published in the Federal Register, the Treasury Department said that auto-enrollment was geared to maximize children’s participation in the accounts, estimating that an additional 2 million children would benefit from the accounts every year as a result.
“An eligible individual should not lose the opportunity to receive contributions or investment growth merely because no adult completed an election,” the Treasury wrote in the notice.
Starting Oct. 1, parents no longer have to opt-in to the accounts, but can claim their children’s accounts on the Trump Accounts app.
According to the administration, the accounts are designed to boost future financial security for the most recent generation of Americans, with each child gaining access to the account in their name once they reach the age of 18. They can then allocate the funds in the account solely for purposes designated by the Treasury Department — including paying for university tuition or purchasing a house.
Some Democrats have praise the program. Maryland Gov. Wes Moore called it a “smart policy,” and California Gov. Gavin Newsom, who called it “one of the best things [Trump] has done.”
Democratic Sen. Cory Booker of New Jersey and Democratic Rep. Ayanna Pressley of Massachusetts introduced a similar proposal in 2023, which would have provided each American child with $1,000 at birth in an account that they could access at age 18, but it didn’t make it out of committee. Booker also supported Trump’s proposal.
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