President Donald Trump on Monday signed an executive order to establish a government-owned sovereign wealth fund that could be used to profit from video sharing app TikTok if an American buyer chooses to purchase it.
During the 2024 campaign, Trump considered creating such a fund. During a signing ceremony in the Oval Office, he announced the move.
BREAKING: President Trump signs an executive order to create a sovereign wealth fund.
— KanekoaTheGreat (@KanekoaTheGreat) February 3, 2025
"We're going to be doing something with TikTok, and we might put that in the sovereign wealth fund."
"And we have a lot of other things we could put in the fund."
Bitcoin? pic.twitter.com/vyODntMVNx
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent told reporters that the fund “will be a combination of liquid assets, assets that we have in this country as we work…to bring them out for the American people.”
Bessent further indicated “If we are going to buy 2 billion Covid vaccines, maybe we should have some warrants and some equity in these companies and have that grow for the help of the American people.”
Trump said Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick would also be involved in standing up the fund, which could take as long as a year to establish. Lutnick said Monday the fund could possibly be used to help take over TikTok, without offering details about how such an endeavor would work.
Norway has the largest sovereign wealth fund in the world. It takes oil revenues and reinvests them in assets like stocks. Its current net worth is equivalent to approximately $325,000 per Norwegian citizen.
Other countries with large sovereign wealth funds include China, Saudi Arabia, Australia, Iran and Russia.
Alaska and Texas also have state-run funds.
Smart
— Prodigal (@ProdigalThe3rd) February 3, 2025
Arab gulf states have used sovereign wealth funds to enrich their nations/citizens, while gaining favor abroad
The US is wise to do same
It’ll also provide better returns on US tax $$ to fund bankrupt entitlements programs that BigFed pillaged.
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Trump Signs Executive… https://t.co/whTUnI8lHU pic.twitter.com/6q1aWe8J06
The executive order instructs the Treasury and Commerce departments to create the fund within the next 12 months.
A sovereign wealth fund is a state-owned investment fund created to manage a pool of money coming from a country’s reserves. They are typically funded by a budget surplus, which makes Trump’s plan different because the federal government is currently operating at a deficit.
The fund could be intended to stabilize the economy against price swings or economic downturns or to bolster strategic investments to promote economic development.
During the signing ceremony, Trump indicated the fund might also be used to invest in TikTok. He said he “might put that in the sovereign wealth fund…or if we do a partnership with very wealthy people.”
On his first day in office, Trump signed an executive order indicating he would not enforce legislation banning the app if its China-based parent company, ByteDance, does not sell it to an American enterprise. This came after the Supreme Court issued a ruling upholding the law, which Congress passed in 2024.
The president indicated in a post on Truth Social that he “would like the United States to have a 50% ownership position in a joint venture.”