President Trump rang the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange and Nasdaq from the Oval Office on Monday, marking the launch of his administration’s tax-advantaged “Trump Accounts” — a savings program that drops $1,000 in government seed money into investment accounts for eligible American children and, the president said, is built “to make young children, born with no money in many cases, rich.”
According to the New York Post, it was only the second time a sitting president has rung the NYSE bell — Ronald Reagan was the first, in 1985. Trump pulled the rope surrounded by nine cheering children he welcomed as “soon to be very rich people,” flanked by a row of corporate executives who had chipped in to fund the program.
Nearly 6 million Americans have already signed up for the accounts, which are open to any child under 18. An estimated 1.4 million kids born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028, have qualified for an additional $1,000 in government seed money on top of whatever families add.
The mechanics are straightforward. The money is invested through index funds or exchange-traded funds that hold mostly stock in U.S. companies. Children can’t touch the balance until they turn 18, at which point the account rolls into a traditional IRA. Families can contribute up to $5,000 a year, the money isn’t taxed until it’s withdrawn, and employers can set up automatic paycheck deductions — while family members, charities, and churches are all free to pitch in.
Financial analysts noted that even if a parent never added a dime beyond the initial $1,000, the account could still be worth $10,000 to $20,000 by the time the child reaches legal age — the quiet power of compounding in a rising market.
The corporate buy-in has been sizable. Michael Dell and his wife, Susan, donated $6.25 billion toward the accounts, the largest single contribution by any individual, and singer Nicki Minaj pledged $300,000 for accounts opened by her fans. Trump rattled off a list of companies funding the accounts or folding them into employee benefits, including Uber, Wells Fargo, Goldman Sachs, Visa, Mastercard, Intel, IBM, AMD, and Steak and Shake.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent was mid-sentence when the clock struck 9:30 a.m. and Trump reached for the rope. “On the heels of our 250th anniversary, this will be one of the president’s most enduring legacies,” Bessent said, “and the great bounty of this will go for generations to come.”
The gold bell, inscribed “Trump Accounts First Trading Day,” is not going back to Wall Street if the president has his way. “Does that bell, does it stay in the White House? Because I’m not giving it back,” Trump said. “We’re going to put that in the middle of the new ballroom.”
Parents and guardians can open an account by filing IRS Form 4547 at trumpaccounts.gov.
