WASHINGTON: U.S. President Donald Trump has recently signed an executive order to establish a sovereign wealth fund, a move that could potentially be used to purchase TikTok, the popular social media app. The U.S. Treasury and Commerce Departments have been instructed to create the fund, which aims to generate revenue from government assets.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent discussed the plan, stating, “We’re going to establish this within the next 12 months. We’re going to monetize the asset side of the U.S. balance sheet for the American people.” He added that the fund would involve a mix of liquid assets and other resources that could be leveraged for the public’s benefit.
The idea of creating a sovereign wealth fund has been part of Trump’s vision since his presidential campaign. He has long suggested that such a fund could be used to finance major national projects such as infrastructure improvements, including roads, bridges, airports, and medical research.
While specifics about how the fund will be structured and financed have yet to be fully disclosed, Trump had earlier proposed that it could be funded through tariffs and other “intelligent” mechanisms. Sovereign wealth funds typically rely on a country’s budget surplus to fund investments, but the U.S. operates at a deficit, which complicates the financing of such a fund.
Globally, more than 90 sovereign wealth funds manage over $8 trillion in assets, according to the International Forum of Sovereign Wealth Funds.
Meanwhile, TikTok, which has approximately 170 million users in the United States, recently faced the possibility of a ban due to national security concerns, with a law requiring its Chinese parent company, ByteDance, to either sell the app or face a shutdown. However, Trump signed an executive order shortly after his inauguration on January 20, delaying the enforcement of this law by 75 days.
Trump has stated that he is in talks with various parties regarding the potential acquisition of TikTok and expects to make a decision on its future by February.
