The White House on Wednesday revealed new information about the Trump account, including additional donations from billionaire hedge fund manager Ray Dalio and his wife Barbara, intended to fund their children’s savings accounts.
Last week, a number of companies, including BNY and BlackRock, also announced they would match employees’ contributions to Trump accounts to encourage early wealth accumulation.
The Trump account, also known as a Section 530A account, was created under President Donald Trump’s “big, beautiful bill” that Congress passed in July. The account will be available to families starting in mid-2026, according to Wednesday’s update on trumpaccounts.gov.
The IRS and Treasury Department released additional Trump account guidelines earlier this month.
Here’s what families need to know about funding.
“50 States Challenge”
Ahead of Wednesday’s White House press conference, an update on trumpaccounts.gov listed the Dalios in a section about additional support, as well as Michael Dell, founder and CEO of Dell Technologies, and his wife, Susan.
“Mr. Ray participated in what we call the 50-state challenge,” said Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent.
Thanks to the Dalios’ efforts, approximately 300,000 children in Connecticut will receive $250 each. The money will go to people living in ZIP codes with a median income of less than $150,000, according to a press release following the announcement. A CNBC analysis of Census Bureau data found that about 87% of Connecticut ZIP codes meet that criteria.
How to open a Trump account
Legal guardians, including parents, adult siblings, and grandparents, can open a Trump Account on behalf of a child under the age of 18, as long as the child is a U.S. citizen.
To open an account, parents must file IRS Form 4547. This form can be filed separately or with your 2025 tax return. Starting in mid-2026, you can also open an account online at trumpaccounts.gov.
Once an account is established, children born between 2025 and 2028 will receive a one-time $1,000 contribution from the Treasury Department. There are no income requirements and everyone is eligible to receive Treasury seed money.
Children 10 and under born before Jan. 1, 2025 (not eligible for the initial $1,000 government deposit) could also receive $250 from the Dell Family Grant deposited into Trump’s account if they live in a ZIP code with a median income of $150,000 or less.
CNBC analyzed data from the U.S. Census Bureau to determine the median income and age of the population by zip code in the United States. Only about 3% of zip codes have a median income of more than $150,000.
About 25 million American children could benefit from the additional funding, according to Invest America, a nonprofit advocacy group affiliated with the Dells.
Investing in a Trump account
The new trumpaccounts.gov site shows a mockup of “Katie’s Trump Account,” with holdings including 1.1 shares. Nvidia and 0.2 shares teslaamong other things, the site’s “Answers” section states that “funds are invested in a diversified portfolio of low-cost index funds.”
Trump Account investment options are more limited than some other tax-advantaged accounts. For example, assets are limited to “broad-based U.S. equity index funds” such as mutual funds and exchange-traded funds.
Investments in Trump accounts must follow an undefined “eligible index,” and annual fees and expenses cannot exceed 0.1%, according to the Treasury Department. Investments also cannot use leverage (which typically involves borrowing or borrowing money to generate returns).
Other details remain unclear, but these criteria could be matched by about 186 mutual funds and ETFs, according to early December data from Morningstar Direct.
How big is Trump’s account likely to grow?
“The compounding growth of Treasury’s initial seed money alone will make America’s young people rich,” Bessent said at a press conference Wednesday.
The revamped Trump Account website includes growth projections for three scenarios: families contributing beyond their government savings or providing an additional $250 or $5,000 annually.
For example, a $1,000 deposit without additional contributions can grow to $5,800 after 18 years, according to the website. This estimate is based on S&P500 Without inflation, the historical annual average is more than 10%.
“It’s not a completely unrealistic prediction, but investors should be aware that there is some risk involved in investing fully in stocks,” Debra Taylor, chief tax strategist at Carson Group in Franklin Lakes, New Jersey, told CNBC.
“People need to be comfortable seeing their balances rise and fall as the market moves, or they may want to consider less risky investment allocations,” he said.
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