AP News53%
Trump Accounts launch July 4, giving newborns $1,000. Here’s what to know 6%
By MORIAH BALINGIT41%
7/2/2026, 12:31:20 PM
Topics: U S Republican Party, Personal Finance, Stocks And Bonds, Financial Services, Business, Politics, United States Government, Education, Lifestyle, Iran, Donald Trump
Keywords: Stocks And Bonds, Donald Trump, Ray Dalio, Financial Services, Trump Hub, Trump Accounts July 4 What To Know, Dell Technologies Inc, District Of Columbia, International Business Machines Corp, Education, Scott Bessent, Maryland, Business, Intel Corp, Sanjay Mehrotra, California, Politics, U S Republican Party, Micron Technology Inc, Personal Finance, United States Government, Michael Dell, Connecticut, Federal Reserve System, Trump Media And Technology Group Corp, Lifestyle, Iran, Nvidia Corp
BS Summary: This article contains 12 faulty reasoning types, including Red Herring, Framing Effect, and Overconfidence Bias, with Negativity Bias as the most egregious example at 13.1% saturation with 135 hits. Analysis detected 522 faulty-reasoning hits from 1,032 analyzed words, generating a BS Score of 22.1% and a BS Rank of 6% (19,177 of 20,301 articles). This article is better (less manipulative) than 94.50% of the article peer group.
WASHINGTON (AP) — On Saturday, President Donald Trump’s administration plans to launch Trump Accounts, tying the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence to an effort to boost financial independence for American kids.
Under the program, parents can open special investment accounts for any child born during Trump’s second term and automatically receive $1,000 from the government.
Accounts can be opened for older children — as long as they don’t turn 18 before the end of the calendar year — but they will not receive the $1,000.
The accounts are set to open for deposits July 4, which is also the day the Treasury Department plans to transfer the $1,000 bonus.
That money — and anything else deposited by employers, philanthropies and relatives — is invested in the stock market by private firms.
Children can’t access the money until they turn 18, and then only for specific purposes, such as paying tuition, starting a business or making a down payment on a home.
Trump declared the program “fabulously successful” in the same post.
According to the Treasury Department, accounts have already been opened for 5.5 million children, with 1.4 million of them eligible for the $1,000 contribution.
About 86% of those accounts were opened by families that earn less than $200,000 annually.
The donation “will help jumpstart the American Dream for these fabulous children as we celebrate America’s 250th Anniversary!
This MASSIVE Investment will help MILLIONS of American children and families get a strong start in life, and give them REAL Financial Security,” wrote Trump, a Republican.
That money — and anything else deposited by employers, philanthropies and relatives — is invested in the stock market by private firms.
Children can’t access the money until they turn 18, and then only for specific purposes, such as paying tuition, starting a business or making a down payment on a home.
Trump Accounts launch amid widespread affordability concerns.
The Federal Reserve’s preferred inflation gauge rose to a new three-year high in May as gas prices peaked during the war with Iran.
Food prices have risen since Trump’s inauguration, too.
Meanwhile, many Americans are bracing for changes to social safety net programs like Medicaid and the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, or SNAP, which were cut under the same legislation that created Trump Accounts.
Here’s what you need to know about Trump Accounts and how to claim the money:
What is a Trump Account?
It’s a new savings tool that invests money in the stock market on a child’s behalf.
The child can’t access the money until they turn 18 and can use it only for specific purposes, such as paying tuition, starting a business or making a down payment on a home.
Families can already sign up at trumpaccounts.gov.
After a parent or guardian opens an account, the U.S.
Treasury Department will contribute $1,000 for newborns.
Private banks and brokerages will manage the money, which must be invested in U.S. equity index funds that track the stock market and charge the accounts no more than 0.10% in annual fees.
Can older kids get any bonuses for their Trump Account?
Some can, thanks to contributions from some of the country’s wealthiest investors and executives.
The Dells’ $6.25 billion donation will allow some children ages 10 or under to receive $250 in seed money if their parents open an account.
That money is reserved for kids living in ZIP codes with a median family income of $150,000 or less who are too old to receive the $1,000 seed money from the Treasury.
Hedge fund founder Ray Dalio and his wife, Barbara, pledged $75 million for kids under age 10 in Connecticut, where Dalio lives.
That would amount to $250 for 300,000 children in qualifying ZIP codes.
Trump announced in January that investor Brad Gerstner would donate $250 to Trump Accounts for every child under age 5 in Indiana.
Several major companies also plan to add Trump Account contributions to their benefits packages, including Uber, Intel, IBM, Nvidia and Steak ‘n Shake.
The administration has encouraged such donations through what U.S.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent calls the “50 State Challenge.”
What’s the idea behind the accounts?
Backers of the accounts say they want to introduce more people to the stock market and give even children born into poverty a chance to benefit from it.
Supporters also say the accounts bolster capitalism at a time when Democratic socialist candidates, who seek stronger regulations and tax hikes on the wealthy, are growing more popular.
“The answer to more socialism is more capitalism,” Gerstner said in January at a White House event.
“This makes every child in America a capitalist from birth.”
About 58% of U.S. households held stocks or bonds in 2022, according to the U.S.
Securities and Exchange Commission, though the wealthiest 1% owned almost half the value of stocks in that year.
Before Trump created the accounts, California, Connecticut and the District of Columbia were piloting baby bonds programs, which are similar to Trump Accounts in some ways.
Several other states, including Maryland, are weighing programs.
But those programs are targeted to youths growing up in poverty or foster care, plus children who lost a parent to COVID-19.
Wealthier children don’t benefit from them.
They’re also managed by the state, not private investment firms.
What do critics say?
Critics point out that the accounts do little to help children in their early years, when they’re most vulnerable and most likely to be in poverty.
The accounts, they say, also fail to offset the cuts the Trump administration and congressional Republicans have made to other programs that benefit young people and the adults in their lives, including food assistance and Medicaid.
Republicans created the accounts in the Trump tax and spending cuts bill that reduced spending for some of those programs.
And even with government contributions, critics say the Trump Accounts will widen the wealth gap.
Affluent families that can afford to make the maximum pretax contribution to the accounts will realize the greatest benefits.
Assuming a 7% annual return, the $1,000 in seed money would grow to roughly $3,570 over 18 years.
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