Exclusive: Scott Bessent Introduces ‘Trump Accounts’ as a Financial Literacy Revolution: ‘Empowering Everyone as Stakeholders’

Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent says President Trump’s “Trump Accounts” will transform financial literacy for working families and set up the next generation for prosperity by giving every American newborn a stake in the economy and a pathway to long-term wealth.

Speaking with Breitbart News, Bessent asserted the initiative is a direct response to growing economic disenfranchisement. “Why are we on the verge of Caracas on the Hudson in New York? Young people are disillusioned with the system,” Bessent remarked, referring to rising socialist rhetoric among far-left politicians including Omar Fateh and Zohran Mamdani.

The Trump Accounts initiative, launched as part of President Trump’s signature One Big Beautiful Bill, provides a $1,000 seed investment for every newborn American and allows up to $5,000 in annual private contributions. Bessent emphasized that the initiative is meant to foster financial knowledge and give younger generations a lasting role in free-market prosperity.

“We’re making people part of the system. We are increasing financial literacy,” Bessent explained. “If you get a pet, you understand everything about your pet. So if you had these accounts — why are you investing in this way? How are you doing it? How can you understand the power of compound interest?”

Bessent recalled a moment at a Circle K gas station where young, mostly African American construction workers spoke about playing the lottery. “They said, ‘Mr., when I win the lottery, will you manage my money for me?’ I tell them, the best thing you could do is save that $20. Now, with these accounts, they can be part of the system.”

He added that the Treasury will work to ensure schools and communities are educating account-holders about long-term saving, investment strategy, and compound growth. “We want you to understand it. We want you to learn about it.”

The initiative is already gaining private-sector traction. Last week, Charter Communications, one of the nation’s largest broadband providers, announced it would match the federal government’s $1,000 Trump Account contribution for employees’ children, effectively doubling the starting investment for thousands of working families.

The company also publicly thanked Sen. Bernie Moreno (R-OH) and President Trump for championing the policy, calling Trump Accounts a tool to “unleash the next generation of American success.”

With nearly 20 percent of Charter’s U.S.-based workforce already participating in its Employee Stock Purchase Plan, and plans to allow self-progression bonuses to be directed into Trump Accounts, the program is being hailed as a breakthrough in corporate-backed financial empowerment.

Bessent stated that the long-term potential could even reshape federal entitlements. “In a way, it is a back door for privatizing Social Security,” he explained. “If these accounts grow and you have hundreds of thousands of dollars for your retirement — then that’s a game changer.”

“People who are part of the system do not want to bring down the system,” Bessent noted. Trump Accounts, he explained, are meant to make more Americans part of that system by encouraging saving, investing, and financial literacy.