A generation has started owning a piece of the market from the day they’re born. It is the largest on-ramp to investing in American history — and most families have never owned an investment account or been taught the one idea that makes it grow. The Baratelli Institute exists to teach exactly that, for free.
What’s happening
On July 5, 2026, the federal government opened Trump Accounts — tax-deferred investment accounts for children. Every child born 2025–2028 is eligible for a $1,000 seed; families can add up to $5,000 a year; and the money is invested in low-cost U.S. stock index funds. A child born before that window receives nothing from Treasury, and closing that one gap is what every large private commitment so far has been for: Michael and Susan Dell committed $6.25 billion on December 2, 2025 for at least 25 million children nationally; Ray and Barbara Dalio followed on December 17, 2025 with at least $75 million for about 300,000 Connecticut children; and the Brad Gerstner Family Foundation applied the same template to Indiana on September 22, 2026, reaching more than 140,000 children born in 2023 and 2024. All three seed $250 per child and screen on the same $150,000 median-family-income ZIP threshold. Amounts and dates are as announced on the dates shown. A running catalog with each figure’s own measurement date is kept on the contributors page.
For parents & families — start here
The complete parent’s guide — what it is and how to open one
One free guide, start to finish: what a Trump Account is, the compounding that makes it grow, and the step-by-step walkthrough to actually open one — written by a CPA who has done it for a real family. What you need, who gets the free $1,000, and the two ways to open the account (on your tax return, or online in one sitting). About 20 minutes, no signup.
For foundations, donors & companies
Seed accounts that actually change lives
Few philanthropic dollars work as hard, or as long, as a seed in a child’s account — it compounds for decades from a single gift, and charitable contributions don’t even count against the family’s annual cap. Three funders — Dell at $6.25 billion, Dalio at $75 million, Gerstner at roughly $35 million — have now done it with the same instrument — the largest 178 times the size of the smallest. Our funder’s playbook lays out how to do it at any scale — the mechanics, the impact math, and the literacy partnership that makes the gift land.
Read the funder’s playbook →The Institute’s role
We are a conflict-free, CPA-founded education house. We don’t sell investments, we don’t hold anyone’s money, and we have nothing to push — we simply teach. For families, that means a free, plain-English guide and tools. For funders, it means a playbook and a co-branded literacy layer that turns capital into comprehension. Capital plus comprehension is what makes a funded account compound into a changed life. A billion lives reached doesn’t begin with adults. It begins at birth.