"Trump Account" App Officially Launches, Robinhood Stock Surges 11% in a Day, Starts Paying Nearly 6 Million Children from July 4

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On May 28, the U.S. Treasury Department announced that the dedicated app for „Trump Accounts,“ a tax-deferred investment program for children, has officially launched on both Apple’s App Store and Google Play. It was jointly developed by Robinhood and BNY Mellon. Treasury Secretary Bessent stated that approximately 6 million children have already registered for an account. Starting July 4, eligible families will begin receiving pilot startup funds deposited directly by the Treasury. The program was established under the „Big and Beautiful Act“ signed by Trump on July 4 of last year, which injects a one-time $1,000 seed fund into each U.S. citizen born between 2025 and 2028. All U.S. minors under 18 can open an account; parents and relatives may deposit up to $5,000 per year, and employers may contribute up to $2,500 per year per employee’s child. Additional contributions from state governments and charitable organizations do not count toward these limits. Companies including JPMorgan Chase, Wells Fargo, Bank of America, Intel, and Broadcom have pledged matching funds for their employees‘ children’s accounts. The account funds will be automatically invested in broad U.S. stock index funds or ETFs; at age 18, the child takes control and decides how to use the funds. Boosted by expectations of millions of young retail investors joining, Robinhood closed up 11.29% on Thursday. Joe Gebbia, co-founder of Airbnb and currently head of the National Design Studio, led the app’s interface design. That studio has become the preferred design team for key Trump administration applications. According to official estimates, with just the initial $1,000 and assuming U.S. stocks maintain a long-term annualized return of 10.5%, the account would grow to about $6,000 by the time the child turns 18, and to approximately $243,000 by age 55. If the full $5,000 is deposited each year, the account value could theoretically exceed $13 million by age 55. Critics, however, point out that the move effectively turns the federal government into Robinhood’s biggest-ever customer acquisition channel. Reuters | CNBC | CNN Trump Accounts app launches — here's how to get started