Trump rings opening bell for stock markets and launches Trump Accounts for America’s children

President Trump made history Monday by ringing the bell at both the New York Stock Exchange and NASDAQ simultaneously, becoming the first president to ring the bell to start trading.

He did it in the Oval Office while also launching Trump Accounts, a government-funded investment vehicle for children born during Mr. Trump’s administration.

“Think of it, children that are born without money, without any money, great parents, they can do everything, but they have no money,” Mr. Trump said. “They can become very wealthy children at 18.”

Trump Accounts opened on July 4th as the administration tied America’s independence with financial independence for the nation’s youth. Mr. Trump called the accounts “a miracle” that “nobody thought was possible.”

Monday marked the first day of trading for the newly created investment accounts.

Sen. Ted Cruz, Texas Republican, said tying the Trump Accounts to the stock market gives children an opportunity to have an ownership stake in some of the country’s largest companies.

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“You now own a little bit of McDonald’s. When you go to McDonald’s, you can look around and say, ‘I own the place,’” Mr. Cruz said. “This is a transformation that changes the way every child looks at the world and the ability to accumulate life-transforming savings.”

Semiconductor company Micron announced last week that it would invest $250 million in the accounts.

The Boise, Idaho-based chip giant said the $250 million investment would come through an employee matching program in which it planned to match contributions of up to $1,000 per child under 18 for its workers.

In addition, the company will make a one-time $250 deposit into accounts for children in counties where it has locations, including California, Colorado, Idaho, Minnesota, New York, Texas and Virginia. Micron said the investments will benefit roughly 1 million children.

Created under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act, Trump Accounts are designed to help children under 18 build savings, similar to how adults save in individual retirement accounts.

The new accounts launch on the first anniversary of Mr. Trump signing the One Big Beautiful Bill Act into law.

Under the program, parents can open an investment account for any child born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028 — near the end of Mr. Trump’s second term.

The accounts will be seeded with a $1,000 contribution from the Treasury Department that will be invested in the stock market.

The money in the account, which can include deposits by parents, employers, relatives and philanthropies, will be invested in the stock market by private investment firms. Children can’t access the money until they turn 18, and even then, withdrawals are limited for specific purposes, such as buying a home or paying tuition.

Billionaires have already boosted the accounts beyond the initial $1,000 government deposit. Last year, Michael Dell, the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan, announced they would donate $6.25 billion to fund Trump Accounts, one of the largest philanthropic donations ever to go directly to Americans.

The Dells will give 25 million American children $250 each to jump-start their investment accounts.

Questions remain about how the accounts will be funded. The federal government will contribute $1,000 to each account. That will cost taxpayers roughly $3.6 billion a year, based on the 3.6 million U.S. births in 2024, a 1% increase from 2023, according to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Mr. Trump disputes this, saying the money will come from initiatives in the One Big Beautiful Bill, including a 3.5% remittance tax on money sent abroad.