President Donald Trump has signed an executive order that will create a sovereign wealth fund within the year that could be used to purchase the social media video platform TikTok from Chinese ownership.
According to Reuters, other nations around the word have already created similar wealth funds that allow government funding to be used to make investments, and the executive order states the Secretary of the Treasury, and the Secretary of Commerce have been given the task of delivering a plan within 90 days to create the wealth fund.
“Sovereign wealth funds exist around the world as mechanisms to amplify the financial return to a nation’s assets and leverage those returns for strategic benefit and goals,” the executive order reads. “The United States can leverage such returns to promote fiscal sustainability, lessen the burden of taxes on American families and small businesses, establish long-term economic security, and promote U.S. economic and strategic leadership internationally.”
The order notes that the U.S. holds valued assets that are able to be invested through this wealth fund for “greater long-term wealth generation,” including $5.7 trillion in direct assets, and adds the federal government has a “far larger sum of asset value” through its natural resources.
Furthermore, Trump said the creation of the wealth fund is “to invest in great national endeavors for the benefit of all of the American people.”
While signing the executive order, Trump said it was a very exciting and took aim at the Biden administration who Trump said had created “de-wealth” while in power.
“It’s a very exciting event. We’re gonna have a sovereign wealth fund, which we’ve never had. We have a lot of things that create wealth, and you’ve [been] seeing that over the last two weeks,” Trump told reporters. “I think I we’ve created more wealth – other people have created de-wealth, the people, my predecessors.”
Trump added the wealth fund could potentially be used to purchase TikTok once it is fully implemented.
“So, other countries have a sovereign wealth funds, and they’re much smaller countries and they’re not the United States. We have tremendous potential in this country. Tremendous. You’re seeing that in just a short period of time, and as an example, TikTok, we’re gonna be doing something, perhaps, with TikTok and perhaps not. If we make the right deal we’ll do it, otherwise we won’t.” Trump said.
