Micron Pledges $250 Million to Trump Child Accounts Before July 4 Launch

Q: How can a child's initial $1,000 deposit grow into a projected $13 million fortune by age 55?

It does not turn into $13 million from the $1,000 alone. That projection depends on the $1,000 federal seed deposit being followed by the maximum allowed annual contributions and decades of stock-market compounding. Under the new Trump accounts, eligible children can receive a one-time $1,000 government deposit. The accounts are then invested in low-cost U.S. stock funds, and projections cited by the administration assume an additional $5,000 is contributed each year while the child is under 18. The money grows tax-deferred inside the account, meaning returns are reinvested rather than reduced by annual taxes. The key driver is time. A child who starts at birth has roughly 55 years for gains to compound. Using long-run U.S. stock market returns of about 10% annually, TrumpAccounts.gov says that a $1,000 starting deposit plus $5,000 yearly contributions could grow to about $271,000 by age 18, around $742,000 by age 27, and roughly $13 million by age 55. That figure is a projection, not a guarantee. It assumes steady contributions, strong long-term market performance, and staying invested through market swings. If returns are lower than the historical average, or if contributions are smaller or stop at some point, the ending balance would be far less. So the headline number comes from a combination of early seeding, regular contributions, tax-advantaged growth, and unusually long compounding—not from the initial $1,000 by itself.

3 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Jul 1

Micron will invest $250 million in the new Trump accounts for children, President Donald Trump said Wednesday, calling it the biggest corporate commitment yet to the program.
July 4 marks the planned launch of the tax-advantaged accounts, which can be opened for any child under 18 with a Social Security number and accept contributions from individuals, employers and others.
Big operational questions still surround how the accounts will work, even as the administration weighs using contributions from other companies — including AI firms and SpaceX — to seed them.
Dell Technologies founder Michael Dell and his wife Susan had previously announced a $6.25 billion donation, underscoring the administration's push to line up private backing for the new accounts.