Trump tells Americans to buy Dell computers — and the stock jumps 7%

"Go out and buy a Dell computer," Trump said during an Oval Office ceremony marking the launch of Trump Accounts, tax-advantaged investment vehicles for children 18 and under. The event also featured a joint opening bell ringing by the New York Stock Exchange and the Nasdaq — the first time either exchange had held the ceremony at the White House, and the first time both had opened trading together.

Trump directed his endorsement at Dell founder Michael Dell and his wife, Susan Dell, who have pledged more than $6 billion to the Trump Accounts program. "Michael and Susan Dell, they are truly incredible," Trump said. "We're going to get him that money back one way or the other — and then I'll ask for another $6 billion."

It was not Trump's first public endorsement of the company. He used similar language in May when praising the Dells' donation. A 927-page annual financial disclosure for 2025, released last week, documented 24 separate Dell Technologies transactions spread across five accounts — a mix of 16 purchases and eight sales dating from late January through mid-November of that year. The buy side of those trades reached as high as $770,000 in value, while sales topped out at roughly $225,000 — placing the combined total somewhere between $300,000 and $1 million, based on CNBC's analysis of the disclosure's estimated ranges. Trump also purchased $5.1 million worth of Dell stock in the first quarter of this year, according to his financial disclosures.

Eligible children 18 and younger can receive a one-time $1,000 seeding contribution from the U.S. Treasury under the Trump Accounts program, which launched on July 4 and began trading Monday, with that benefit limited to children born in the years 2025 through 2028. Children who were born prior to January 1, 2025, and are currently 10 years old or younger would each receive a $250 contribution through the Dells' pledge. In a post on X $TWTR Monday morning, SpaceX President Gwynne Shotwell announced plans to contribute a share of company stock into a Trump Account on behalf of each of what she described as more than two million children nationwide. A range of major corporations — among them Goldman Sachs $GS, JPMorgan $JPM Chase, BlackRock $BLK, Robinhood, and Chipotle $CMG Mexican Grill — have committed to matching the Treasury's $1,000 deposit for the children of their employees.

Among the executives attending the Oval Office event were Intercontinental Exchange CEO Jeffrey Sprecher, Altimeter Capital CEO Brad Gerstner, and Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent and Securities and Exchange Commission Chair Paul Atkins were also present.

The bell-ringing event comes as renewed scrutiny surrounds Trump's personal finances. Last week's 927-page financial disclosure filing revealed that brokers acting for Trump executed more than 21,000 stock trades over the past year, a total that surpasses the known trading activity of every prior president during their time in office.