Donald Trump’s administration pockets staggering $10bn fee for TikTok deal, and the details are even wilder

The Trump administration is reportedly set to receive a staggering $10 billion fee from investors as part of the deal that created a US-controlled version of the popular social media app, TikTok, as reported by The Guardian. This substantial sum, which the US government views as a transaction fee, is being paid by the administration-friendly investment groups that took over TikTok’s US operations from its Chinese parent company, ByteDance.

It’s pretty wild to see a government stepping in to take a transactional fee for a deal between private entities. The investors involved in this unique agreement include tech giant Oracle, the United Arab Emirates-based investment firm MGX, and private equity firm Silver Lake. These backers have already paid an initial $2.5 billion to the US Treasury when the deal closed back in January, and they’re slated to make further payments until the full $10 billion is reached.

President Trump previously stated that the US would get a “tremendous fee-plus – I call it a fee-plus – just for making the deal and I don’t want to throw that out the window.” This move came amid bipartisan concerns that TikTok’s original Chinese ownership posed a national security risk, especially given the app’s immense popularity across America. President Trump emphasized the new structure, saying, “It’s owned by Americans, and very sophisticated Americans. This is going to be American operated all the way.”

Trump officially signed an executive order in September last year approving the TikTok deal

Typically, investment bankers might take a cut of around 1% for facilitating such deals. However, when you look at the reported valuation of the US version of TikTok, which JD Vance has put at about $14 billion, this fee represents closer to 70% of the entire deal. Under the terms of this agreement, TikTok will be able to operate fully within the United States. However, the new investors will still need to share profits with ByteDance, the original Chinese parent company.

This transaction fee isn’t the only instance where the Trump administration has taken an exceptionally active and unusual role in the private sector. We’ve seen the administration acquire stakes in companies like Intel and USA Rare Earth, a firm focused on mining critical minerals.

President Trump even launched his own cryptocurrency coin while in the Oval Office, offering “guaranteed direct access” to the president for investors who put in $5 million. If that wasn’t enough, it was recently reported that President Trump’s private phone number is apparently being sold to chief executive officers alongside crypto investors, with journalists even trading it for the numbers of other world leaders.