What we know about the Trump administration’s plans for a sovereign wealth fund

The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments will establish a sovereign wealth fund in accordance with a new executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday. 

The sovereign wealth fund, a state-owned investment fund with various financial assets like stocks and bonds, could foot the bill for purchasing TikTok, according to Trump. 

“We’re going to be doing something perhaps with TikTok, and perhaps not,” Trump told reporters Monday. “If we make the right deal, we’ll do it. Otherwise, we won’t.”

“But we could put that as an example in the fund,” Trump said. “And we have a lot of other things that we could put in the fund. And I think in a short period of time we’d have one of the biggest funds.”

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The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments will establish a sovereign wealth fund in accordance with a new executive order President Donald Trump signed on Monday.  (Jabin Botsford/The Washington Post via Getty Images)

Countries like Norway and Saudi Arabia utilize sovereign wealth funds, as do multiple U.S. states. 

Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent said the sovereign wealth fund would be created within the next 12 months. 

“I think it’s going to create value and be of great strategic importance,” Bessent told reporters Monday. 

Bessent and Commerce Secretary nominee Howard Lutnick are instructed to devise a plan in the next 90 days for the creation of the fund, according to the White House. The proposal will include recommendations on funding mechanisms, investment strategies, fund structure and a governance model. 

More details on the sovereign wealth fund were not immediately available, and it’s unclear whether Congress will sign off on it.  

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Secretary of the Treasury Scott Bessent, pictured here in January, said the sovereign wealth fund would be created within the next 12 months, labeling the initiative as one of great strategic importance.  (Getty)

However, Trump signaled on the campaign trail in 2024 that he was interested in a sovereign wealth fund, using revenue from tariffs to pour into the wealth fund and then use that money to pay for projects like highways, airports and medical research. 

Additionally, Rep. Morgan McGarvey, D-Ky., introduced legislation in September 2024 called the American Sovereign Wealth Fund Exploration Act to research ways to create a sovereign wealth fund in the U.S. 

Meanwhile, Trump has weighed in a few times on the future of TikTok in recent weeks and said that he’s spoken with multiple parties who are interested in purchasing the app. 

Although TikTok briefly went offline for U.S. users in January after the Supreme Court upheld a ban on the social media platform, Trump signed an executive order just hours after his inauguration on Jan. 20 delaying a ban on TikTok for 75 days.

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The U.S. Supreme Court upheld a ban on TikTok in January, citing national security concerns due to the social media platform’s ownership.  (The Associated Press)

The Supreme Court’s unanimous ruling on the TikTok ban cited national security concerns, specifically due to the “relationship with a foreign adversary” and the app’s data collection practices. 

But Trump said in the executive order delaying the ban that he has “the unique constitutional responsibility for the national security of the United States, the conduct of foreign policy, and other vital executive functions.”

“To fulfill those responsibilities, I intend to consult with my advisors, including the heads of relevant departments and agencies on the national security concerns posed by TikTok, and to pursue a resolution that protects national security while saving a platform used by 170 million Americans,” Trump said in the executive order. “My Administration must also review sensitive intelligence related to those concerns and evaluate the sufficiency of mitigation measures TikTok has taken to date.”

The Associated Press and Fox News’ Andrea Margolis contributed to this report.