Michael and Susan Dell Pledge $6.25 Billion to Kick-Start ‘Trump Accounts’ for Millions of Kids

The Washington Post, CNN, and the New York Times contributed to this report.

Michael Dell isn’t just selling laptops — he’s now seeding investment accounts for an entire generation of American children.

The Dell Technologies founder and CEO and his wife, Susan, said Tuesday they’ll donate $6.25 billion to help fund so-called “Trump accounts” for 25 million kids under 10, building on a savings program created in President Donald Trump’s latest tax-and-immigration law.

“These accounts set children on a path for saving,” Dell said in an interview. “They could be used for education, to start a company, to buy a home. The point is to create hope and opportunity and prosperity for millions of children.”

Trump accounts are tax-advantaged investment accounts for children. They were created this year as part of Trump’s sweeping economic package, the “One Big Beautiful Bill Act.”

Here’s the basic structure:

• Any US child under 18 with a Social Security number can have a Trump account.
• Money in the account is invested — mainly in mutual funds or index funds tracking benchmarks like the S&P 500.
• The funds grow tax-deferred, much like an IRA.
• Withdrawals are locked until age 18, and then can be used for things like:

• • education

  • a first-home down payment

  • starting a business (within standard IRA-style rules)

Sign-ups are expected to open online in mid-2026, according to advocates for the program.

Trump’s law already set aside money for a big federal kick-start:

• The US Treasury will automatically deposit $1,000 into Trump accounts for every eligible child born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028.

That leaves out millions of kids who are already here.

Enter the Dells.

• Their $6.25 billion pledge will fund $250 deposits into accounts for at least 25 million children aged 10 and under who were born before 2025 and therefore don’t qualify for the federal $1,000.
• The money will go first to kids in ZIP codes where median household income is under $150,000, and is expected to reach children in roughly 75% of US ZIP codes, according to Invest America, the nonprofit backing the effort.
• If there’s money left after those sign-ups, older kids could also receive Dell seed funding.

Parents and others will be able to kick in their own money, too:

• Up to $5,000 a year in private contributions can go into each account starting in 2026.
• Employers can contribute up to $2,500 of that and get a tax break for doing so.
• Nonprofits can also donate directly into accounts.

The funds from the Dells will flow through vehicles linked to the Michael & Susan Dell Foundation and will be deposited directly into children’s accounts by the Treasury Department. Michael Dell said his team is working with the government to make the process “fast and seamless.”

Dell, one of the world’s richest people, framed the move as a long-term bet on the power of compounding.

“If you think about what these accounts could become over 10, 20, 30 years, that’s super significant,” he said.

Susan Dell echoed that sentiment, saying that investing in children’s futures is “really investing in all of our futures.” The couple has already given billions to charity, but this pledge alone is more than double their previous total philanthropic giving.

The Dells are also using the moment as a call to action. They’re urging other companies and philanthropists to match or supplement contributions, and senators Ted Cruz and Cory Booker have already sent letters to Fortune 1000 CEOs encouraging them to build Trump accounts into their benefits and philanthropy plans.

Trump, for his part, is hosting an event at the White House to highlight the donation and the new accounts, with aides calling it a “revolutionary investment” in America’s children.

The push for Trump accounts has been years in the making:

• Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, founded Invest America in 2021 to lobby for federally backed kids’ investment accounts.
• Dell says he first discussed the idea with the Biden administration, but it didn’t gain traction.
• The concept later found a home in Trump’s agenda, with Sen. Ted Cruz introducing the legislation that eventually became part of Trump’s tax and immigration package.
• Cruz and Booker are now trying to rope in corporate America to layer private money on top of the federal contributions.

While “free money” for kids is an easy political sell, financial experts note that the Trump accounts add another layer to an already confusing maze of savings vehicles:

• 529 plans still offer strong tax advantages for education and may make more sense for parents focused solely on college costs.
• Trump accounts are more flexible — money isn’t limited to tuition — but they come with their own rules on contributions, withdrawals and tax treatment.

Some policy groups argue that if Washington really wanted to help families save, it might be better to simplify the system rather than creating yet another specialized account.

Michael and Susan Dell are putting $6.25 billion behind a big, very public experiment: give tens of millions of kids a small stake in the markets and see what happens over decades.

Supporters see it as a generational wealth-building tool wrapped in patriotic branding. Critics see one more complicated account to navigate.

Either way, for millions of American children, the Dells’ pledge means something concrete — a real investment account in their name, with actual money in it, before they even hit middle school.