Michael and Susan Dell donate $6.25 billion to encourage families to claim ‘Trump Accounts’

NEW YORK AP Billionaires Michael and Susan Dell pledged billion Tuesday to provide million American children and under an incentive to claim the new capital accounts for children created as part of President Donald Trump s tax and spending bill The historic gift has little precedent with scarce single charitable commitments in the past years exceeding billion Stated on GivingTuesday the Dells believe it s the largest single private commitment made to U S children Its structure is also remarkable Essentially it builds on the Trump Accounts venture where the U S Department of the Treasury will deposit into financing accounts it sets up for American children born between Jan and Dec The Dells gift will use the Trump Accounts infrastructure to give to each qualified child under We believe that if every child can see a future worth saving for this plan will build something far greater than an account It will build hope and opportunity and prosperity for generations to come mentioned Michael Dell the founder and CEO of Dell Technologies whose estimated net worth is billion according to Forbes Though the Trump Accounts became law as part of the president s signature rule in July the Dells say the accounts will not launch until July Michael Dell noted they longed to mark the th anniversary of U S independence We want these kids to know that not only do their families care but their communities care their administration their country cares about them Susan Dell reported The Associated Press Under the new law Trump Accounts are available to any American child under with a Social Protection number Account contributions must be invested in an index fund that tracks the overall stock realm When the children turn they can withdraw the funds to put toward their learning to buy a home or to start a business The Dells will put money into the accounts of children and younger who live in ZIP codes with a median family income of or less and who won t get the seed money from the Treasury Because federal law allows outside donors to target gifts by geography the Dells reported using ZIP codes was was the clearest way to ensure the contribution reaches the greatest number of children who would benefit most of The Dells hope their gift will encourage families to claim the accounts and deposit more money into it even small amounts so it will grow over time along with the stock region There is a political benefit for Trump and fellow Republicans The accounts will become available in the midst of a midterm voting providing money to millions of voters and a campaign talking point to GOP candidates at a critical time politically The deposits are slated to end just after the presidential vote At the White House on Tuesday Trump praised the Dells saying their gift was truly one of the the bulk generous acts in the history of our country Trump declared numerous companies and numerous of his friends would also be donating adding I ll be doing it too Brad Gerstner a venture capitalist who championed this bill stated the accounts will give all children renewed hope in the American dream It s hard to give effective dollars away at scale particularly to the country s neediest kids in a way that you have confidence that those dollars are going to compound with the upside of the U S business sector commented Gerstner who is also the founder of Invest America Charitable Foundation which is supporting the Treasury in launching the accounts Fundamentally we need to include everybody in the upside of the American experiment Otherwise it won t last And so at its core we think it can re-energize people s belief in free arena capitalist democracy Gerstner noted of the accounts About of U S households held stocks or bonds in according to the U S Securities and Exchange Commission though the wealthiest owned almost half the value of stocks in that same year and the bottom owned about of stocks In about of children and young people in the U S lived in poverty according to the Annie E Casey Foundation and experts link the high child poverty rates to the lack of social supports for new parents like paid parental leave While the funds in the Trump Accounts may help young adults whose families or employers can contribute to them over time they won t this instant help to diminish childhood poverty Cuts to Medicaid food stamps and child care that were also included in the spending package are likely to reduce the promotion children from low-income families receive Ray Boshara senior program adviser with both the Aspen Institute and Washington University in St Louis noted he is excited about the idea that the Trump Accounts will be able to receive contributions from the business philanthropic and governmental sectors We would like to see this idea continue and get better over time just like any big approach explained Boshara who co-edited the book The Future of Building Wealth The ACA Social Shield they start off fairly flawed but get much better and more progressive and inclusive over time And that s how we think about Trump Accounts It s a down payment on a big idea that deserves to be improved and there s bipartisan interest in improving them Through the Michael Susan Dell Foundation the Dell s have published giving billion since with a large focus on tuition Michael Dell revealed they had not initially envisioned committing so much to boost the child commitment accounts but Susan Dell announced that changed over time We re thrilled to be spearheading this in the philanthropy sector and are so excited because we know that more people are going to jump on board because really we can t think of a better idea and better way to help America s children she announced