Michael and Susan Dell announced on Tuesday that they would deposit $250 into individual investment accounts for 25 million children, totaling $6.25 billion. It is one of the largest philanthropic donations ever made directly to Americans.
The money expands the number of children who will receive initial capital for investment accounts, known as “Trump accounts”. The federal government will give $1,000 to babies born between Jan. 1, 2025, and Dec. 31, 2028. The Dells’ grant extends to children up to age 10, but limits eligibility to those who live in zip codes where the median household income is less than $150,000.
The federal government is expected to create the accounts by mid-2026, but many details about their operation still need to be defined. There is not yet a system for registration, and it is unclear where accounts will be kept.
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Michael Dell, chairman and CEO of Dell Technologies, made his fortune selling personal computers directly to consumers rather than through retail stores. He sees this donation in a similar way.
“When I started the company 41 years ago, we created the direct model,” Dell said. “This is a kind of philanthropy in the direct model.”
The Dells hope other philanthropists, businesses, and state and local governments will follow their example by pouring billions more into the accounts. The approach could become a model for wealthy donors who want to give money but haven’t created foundations and don’t know where to start evaluating beneficiary groups.
The idea behind the Trump accounts began with a dinner table conversation between Brad Gerstner, CEO of Altimeter Capital, and his children in 2021. Gerstner created a nonprofit, Invest America, to promote the creation of accounts in which the federal government would give $1,000 to each child at birth. He called Dell, a friend, soon after. The Dells were excited about the idea.
Gerstner reached out to the Biden administration and both Democrats and Republicans in Congress for support, but the initiative didn’t gain traction until Dell spoke with President Donald Trump this year. Senator Ted Cruz, Republican of Texas, introduced a bill to create Invest America accounts. The name was changed to Trump accounts in the final version of the tax law passed this year.
Dell and Gerstner emphasized that the idea of children’s savings accounts has bipartisan support. “If you look at what we’re doing, I don’t think this is a partisan activity,” Dell said. “That’s certainly not the intention.”
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But if the program is successful, it will strengthen an effort that bears Trump’s name.
“We have always focused on bringing support as close to families as possible, and Invest America continues that work,” said Susan Dell in an interview. “This is a little bit of a different way of doing it, but the opportunity now is to do something really big and impact 25 million kids who will really benefit greatly from this.”
If there is money left after initial applications, the Dells said they may extend the benefit to children over 10 years old.
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Michael Dell said they are still “working out the details” of how the money will reach individual children. The Treasury Department will facilitate the process of finding accounts that meet the couple’s criteria.
“And then we will transfer the funds,” he added, “and the Treasury Department will immediately transfer those funds into these children’s accounts.”
Employers can contribute up to $2,500 per year to their employees’ children’s accounts without it being considered taxable income. Several large companies, including Dell Technologies, have announced that they will match the government’s $1,000 contribution for their employees’ newborn children. By law, these accounts must be invested in low-cost index funds at least until children turn 18.
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Dell said he has spoken with other philanthropists interested in joining the effort.
“We believe that if every child can see a future worth saving,” he said, “we will have built something much bigger than a bill.”
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