ROUND ROCK, Texas–Michael Dell, the chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, have has committed $6.25 billion to fund investment accounts for some 25-million American children who are not eligible for funds under recently passed legislation that created the so-called “Trump Accounts.”
“It’s designed to help families feel supported from the start and encourage them to keep saving as their children grow,” Dell told CNBC. “We know that when children have accounts like this, they’re much more likely to graduate from high school, from college, buy a home, start a business and less likely to be incarcerated.”
As CNBC noted and as the CU Daily has reported, the Dells’ commitment comes at the same time a new federal government program that allows parents to open tax-advantaged investment accounts for children under 18 with Social Security numbers. Under the federal program, U.S. citizens born from the beginning of 2025 through 2028 will receive a federal grant of $1,000 to seed those so-called Trump accounts. Parents will be able to open and contribute to these accounts starting on July 4, 2026; the IRS guidance has yet to be issued.
Who’s Eligible
The Dells said they have committed to seed Trump accounts with $250 for children who are 10 or under who were born before Jan. 1, 2025. According to Invest America, the pledged funds will cover 25 million children age 10 and under in ZIP codes with a median income of $150,000 or less, CNBC reported.
“We want to help the children that weren’t part of the government program,” Dell said.
Dell told CNBC he first became interested in seeding investment accounts for children after hearing the idea from hedge fund manager Brad Gerstner around 2021. Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, later founded Invest America, which advocated for the program to get included in the One Big Beautiful Bill Act.
As the CU Daily has also reported, Trump Accounts can only be used to invest in low-cost diversified funds that track a U.S. stock index.
More Will be Needed
Gerstner told CNBC it will take more than the $250 from the Dells or $1,000 federal grants for the accounts to compound to a substantial sum. However, Gerstner said the seed money encourages parents to add their own funds, CNBC added.
Dell Technologies has pledged to match the $1,000 grants by the U.S. Treasury deposited into accounts for new children of employees. Parents only have to open a Trump account to automatically receive a grant from the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation.
