Tipsheet

Trump Accounts Launch As Cruz Calls Them a ‘Game-Changer’ for America’s Kids

Amy Curtis
Amy Curtis  |  January 28, 2026 3:45 PM

Earlier today, President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent hosted a summit on Trump Accounts, historic investment accounts for American children established under the Working Families Tax Cut Act, thanks to efforts by Senator Ted Cruz.

Sen. Cruz joined the President and Secretary Bessent, as well as Brad Gerstner, the founder of Altimeter Capital & Invest America, Michael Dell, Kevin O'Leary, Nicki Minaj, and others for the summit.

Before the summit, Sen. Cruz laid out how he came up with the idea during an appearance on CNBC

"A year and a half ago...I was playing poker in Vegas, I like to play poker, and I do a fundraiser every April in Vegas. And a number of poker pros play," Cruz said. "One of whom is Phil Hellmuth, one of the best poker pros alive."

"Phil asked me, 'Hey, do you know Brad Gerstner?'" Cruz continued. "I didn't know Brad, and he tells me about the idea of what would become the Trump accounts. And I said that sounds really interesting. I said I'd love to know more. Phil pulls out his phone and he puts together a text thread of me and Brad saying, 'You two should talk.' The next week, Brad got on a plane, flew from Silicon Valley to D.C., and pitched the idea to me. I said I love it. We drafted the legislation."

"That is what's in the bill, is that idea that came from a 2 a.m. poker game with Phil Hellmuth. And these provisions, the Trump accounts, I think are the single most important part of the Working Families Tax Cut we passed last year," Cruz said.

During a discussion on the Trump Accounts, Gerstner said, "Senator, when I came and saw you, a little window into trying...being an ordinary citizen, trying to get a law passed. You spend a lot of time. I had no lobbyist, no lawyers, but I spent a lot of time on Capitol Hill."

"But when I came and saw you, I saw a twinkle in the eye, and you said, 'We're going to make this happen. We're going to get drafting," Gerstner said. "What was it about this that so connected to your version of what had to happen in America?"

"These Trump accounts are a big damn deal," Cruz replied. "I believe that the Trump accounts and the school choice provision are the school choice provision are the two most far-reaching and significant elements of the entire Working Families Tax Cut that we passed last year. That's a massive bill, the biggest tax cut in history. There are a lot of good things in that bill. By the way, [Rep. Jason Smith] worked heroically drafting that bill and it is without exaggeration, there are more conservative victories in that bill than I think any legislation that has ever passed."

"I'm reminded of Trump saying, 'You know, we're going to win so much you're going to get tired of winning,'" Cruz continued. "I'm not tired of winning, but of all of the victories, I think the Trump Accounts are right at the top."

Sen. Cruz also joined President Trump at the White House to deliver remarks after the Dell family announced a historic $6.25 billion investment in the Trump Accounts.

"Objectively, on the merits, the case can be made that there's never been a President who has had a greater positive impact on the children of America than you have," Cruz said.

"And in particular in this One Big Beautiful Bill, I think the two most long-lasting and far-reaching provisions are number one, the school choice provision, that you signed into law that is going to unleash tens of billions of dollars to scholarships to low income kids all over the country, and is going to change the lives of millions of kids," Cruz said. "And the second provision is this provision right here: the Trump Accounts. These Trump Accounts, starting on July 4, every child in America, every child in America will have a personal investment account opened for them. Newborn children will have it seeded with $1,000."

"Parents and families and employers can contribute up to $5,000 a year in a tax-advantaged account," Cruz continued. "That money will be invested in the S&P 500, in the stock market. Broad-based, equity index account."

"Every child in America will experience the benefits of compound growth," Cruz said. "Take a little girl born next year...the account's open for her, $1,000 is automatically seeded. Her parents, her family, her employer puts $5,000 a year, each year, into that account. If you assume the historic rate of growth for the S&P 500, which is seven percent a year, by the time that little girl is 18, she will have $170,000 in that account. And if she keeps saving, by the time that little girl is 35, she will have $700,000 in that account. That is game-changing."

"We're talking the kids of a single mom waiting tables, who could have $700,000 saved by the time she's 35," Cruz added. "To get an education, to start a business, to buy a house. That changes their whole lives."

Cruz said there's an even bigger benefit to this, and one that he's excited about: a return to a love of capitalism. "We are creating a new generation of capitalists," Cruz said. "Every child in America is going to be an owner of the biggest employers in this country. We've all seen the sad statistics of how many kids are losing faith in capitalism. Well, ten years from now, a little boy is going to pull out his phone and look at his app, and he's going to see his Trump Account. And instead of thinking of big, bad, scary corporations, that little boy is going to say, 'I own $50 of Apple. I own $100 of Dell. I own $75 of McDonald's.' And every child is an owner of the biggest employers in this country."

"That will transform this country," Cruz said.

Cruz also thanked Michael and Susan Dell for their investment in Trump Accounts. "Incredible Texans. $6.25 billion is extraordinarily generous. Let me say on behalf of 25 million kids who just got a gift from Michael and Susan...that changes their lives, and I hope and believe Michael and Susan are going to inspire millions across the country to do the same thing."

The Trump Accounts are more than an investment tool. They represent an ideological and philosophical shift that pairs the power of compound growth and early investment to give each child a tangible stake in America's economic future. The goal of the Trump Accounts isn't just wealth creation; it's change: to foster in a new generation an understanding of ownership, growth, opportunity, and capitalism.