President Donald Trump supports the U.S. government taking ownership stakes in major artificial intelligence companies, likening the idea to a sovereign wealth fund-style approach.
Trump Backs AI Ownership Stakes
Speaking on an episode of The Diary Of A CEO, Vice President JD Vance said that Trump has stated the position publicly and called it unconventional for a Republican administration, describing the president as a pragmatist rather than an ideologue.
- The president is supportive of the United States owning these big AI companies,
- Trump likes the idea as sort of a sovereign wealth fund idea.
Vance also questioned whether AI companies, after amassing trillions in wealth over the next decade or two, could have that wealth redistributed to workers through taxation alone.
- He called pure redistribution a very modern… liberal concept that risks making the poor subservients of the rich.
- He pointed to labor unions as a potentially important model, adding, You’ve got to give the workers a seat at the table.
Criticism from Musk and Cuban
Musk Pushes Treasury Payments
Responding to Trump’s endorsement, Elon Musk offered a different fix. He argued that it would be better just to send money directly to the people from the Treasury.
- Musk said that so long as the increase in goods & services exceeds the increase in the money supply, which he expects with AI and robotics, there will not be inflation.
- In fact, my prediction is that we will desperately be fighting deflation.
Cuban Questions The Funding Math
Mark Cuban also shared his views on putting half of the major AI stocks into a sovereign wealth fund.
- He said the idea is not a plan on its own.
- Cuban noted that those same companies would still need to raise hundreds of billions more in capital, which raised questions about whether taxpayer-funded equity stakes would truly benefit taxpayers.
- He further questioned who could be trusted to represent taxpayers in such negotiations, saying, Certainly not politicians.
Sanders Raises The Stakes With $7 Trillion Fund Proposal
These comments come as Sen. Bernie Sanders introduced legislation that would tax major AI firms 50% of their stock into a federal fund, projected to reach $7 trillion and pay Americans roughly $1,000 annually.
- The proposed American AI Sovereign Wealth Fund Act would require leading AI companies to pay a one-time stock tax to fund the program.
- The debate highlights a broader policy question facing Washington: whether the federal government should take direct financial stakes in private companies driving the AI boom, and how any resulting gains would be passed on to ordinary Americans.