Trump Launches U.S. Sovereign Wealth Fund
Big news! President Donald Trump has signed an executive order to create the United States’ first Sovereign Wealth Fund (SWF). The goal is to generate revenue from government assets and invest in national development projects. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will head up the effort to get the fund up and running within the next year.
This is a big deal in U.S. economic policy. Sovereign wealth funds are state-owned investment vehicles that manage a country’s surplus revenues (often from natural resources) to benefit the country and its citizens. Norway’s Government Pension Fund Global and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund are notable examples. The U.S. fund will invest in infrastructure, medical research, and other critical areas.
One of the fund’s first potential investments could be a stake in TikTok’s U.S. operations. President Trump has suggested the SWF could help facilitate a deal to keep the social media platform in the U.S. This is in line with ongoing discussions about the platform’s ownership and data security.
But there are questions about how the fund will be financed, especially with the national budget and trade deficits. Unlike countries that fund their SWFs from surplus revenues from natural resources, the U.S. doesn’t have a clear source of funding for this. Treasury Secretary Bessent is confident they can get the fund up and running within the 12 months but specifics on the capitalization are still undisclosed.
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