Trump Accounts: How a ‘moment becomes a movement’ — why Michael Dell hailed growing support as he reveals donors

US President Donald Trump's child investment programme, Trump Accounts, is gaining support from wealthy donors and business leaders, prompting Michael Dell to describe it as a growing movement.

The Dell Technologies founder highlighted contributions from Silicon Valley executives and investors, including SpaceX President and COO Gwynne Shotwell and billionaire investor Ray Dalio, saying the initiative had reached a point where a “moment has become a movement”.

In a post on X, Dell shared details of donations from business leaders and philanthropists backing the programme, which aims to give American children an early stake in the stock market. He credited the growing participation of private donors with helping expand the initiative beyond its initial government-backed contribution.

“This is how a moment becomes a movement,” Dell wrote, pointing to the contributions coming from across the country.

How have Trump Accounts become a movement?

Dell highlighted several high-profile contributions to explain why he believes the programme is gathering momentum.

Among the donors is Gwynne Shotwell, SpaceX's president and chief operating officer. Shotwell and her husband, Robert, are donating one share of SpaceX stock to each of more than 2 million children aged 11 to 17 in lower-income communities.

Dell valued the announced contribution at approximately $325 million.

Billionaire investor Ray Dalio and his wife, Barbara Dalio, are also backing the initiative. They are contributing an additional $250 for children across Connecticut.

Brad Gerstner, founder of investment firm Altimeter Capital, is contributing $250 to Trump Accounts for more than 140,000 children in Indiana, according to Dell's post.

Dell acknowledged Gerstner's role in bringing contributors together through Invest America, the organisation associated with the campaign to expand the accounts.

“Thank you Brad for organizing @InvestAmerica24 and relentlessly turning an idea into reality, and thank you to every donor joining in,” Dell wrote.

Why did Michael Dell hail the growing support?

Dell said the programme could help millions of children become investors from an early age, giving them an opportunity to understand how investments and compounding work.

“Millions of kids starting life as owners. Learning investing. Seeing compounding firsthand. Participating in America’s future,” he wrote.

He also encouraged parents to claim accounts for their children, arguing that contributions from private donors could widen the programme's reach.

“Every child an investor. Every child an owner. Every child with a stake in America's future,” Dell said.

The participation of business leaders, investors and philanthropists has helped bring additional private money into the initiative. Dell's latest post highlighted how contributions are being directed towards children in different states and income groups.

What are Trump Accounts?

Trump Accounts are tax-advantaged investment accounts created under Donald Trump's tax and spending legislation. The programme is designed to help children build wealth through investments in the stock market.

Eligible American children under 18 can have an account. The US Treasury will provide a one-time $1,000 contribution for eligible children born between January 1, 2025, and December 31, 2028.

Dell and his wife, Susan, have separately pledged $6.25 billion to provide $250 contributions for 25 million children aged 10 and younger in eligible lower- and middle-income communities.

According to Dell's post, around 9 million accounts have been opened, with the programme on track to automatically create accounts for all 70 million American children using Social Security data.

About the Author

Garvit Bhirani is a journalist based in Gurugram. He is a Deputy Chief Content Producer at LiveMint, where he covers national and international news stories, focusing on accuracy and compelling storytelling for readers. <br><br> With a total of six years of experience in journalism, he has previously worked with Vaco Binary Semantics for Google, taking on the role of news curation lead, and reported from the field on health, education, and agriculture stories for 101reporters and News9. He has also served as a content editor for entertainment and news media organisations. <br><br> Garvit holds bachelor’s and master’s degrees in journalism and mass communication from Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University and Gurugram University, respectively. During college days, he joined India’s only non-profit student journalism network, where he anchored daily news updates and produced his own weekly show called ‘Data Fix’. <br><br> He was selected for the YES Foundation Media for Social Change Fellowship in Delhi, the Talking Data to the Fourth Pillar residential workshop, and the VOICE Fellowship in Pune. <br><br> He holds certificates in COVID-19-verification reporting, data journalism, food & agriculture, tech policy, media literacy and countering misinformation, and tackling election disinformation courses from Thomson Foundation, IndiaSpend, The Dialogue, US Mission in India, and AFP. <br><br> He can be reached on <a href="https://www.linkedin.com/in/garvit-bhirani">LinkedIn</a> or on <a href="https://x.com/GarvitBhirani">@garvitbhirani</a> on X