No $1,000 Trump Account? How To Make Your Child A Millionaire Anyway

The Trump “baby 401(k)s” have gotten a lot of press, especially with all the hullabaloo about giving children a nest egg of their own. It’s a fine idea in theory, but the restrictions and caveats make Trump accounts more inflexible than they should be. Even if you don’t qualify for the account’s $1,000 bonus, you can still set up your child to be a millionaire — on $196 a week or less. 

Here’s how you can make your child a millionaire, whether you get a Trump account or not.

No Trump account for your child? No problem 

The Trump accounts, made into law in 2025, provide $1,000 to all children born in 2025-2028, and they allow a further $5,000 in after-tax contributions annually. This cash is invested in index funds that track the U.S. stock market, meaning they should generate strong long-term returns.

The accounts are fine as far as they go, but they may not compare well to other plans such as 529 plans and custodial Roth IRAs, both of which are for the benefit of younger Americans. And of course, those born outside this window won’t get the special $1,000 deposit to begin with. But Americans can turn their children into millionaires even without a Trump account. Here’s how.

Americans can open a custodial brokerage account for their children and invest any amount they like. Like the Trump accounts, they can also purchase a top-performing index fund, allowing them the potential to earn attractive long-term returns. For example, the S&P 500 index, which includes hundreds of America’s top companies, has returned about 10 percent annually on average over long periods. Buy a solid fund, add to it over time and build wealth. 

But how much can you earn this way? Without question, you need to play the long game, but you can still turn your children into millionaires while they’re relatively young. The table below shows how much you’d need in annual contributions (broken down by week) and the time frame for doing so, if you were able to earn the S&P 500’s long-term average return of 10 percent annually. 

For example, if you were able to contribute $1,040 per year ($20 per week), your child would have an estimated $59,566 in 20 years or an estimated $102,281 in 25 years. But just how long and how much would you need to reach $1 million at the same growth rate? 
 

• You would need to invest $117 per week (about $6,084 per year) to reach $1 million in 30 years.
• You would need to invest $196 per week (about $10,192 per year) to reach $1 million in 25 years.
• If you really want to speed things up, you would need to invest $336 per week (about $17,472 per year) to reach $1 million in 20 years.

Depending on how much money you can contribute — remember, there is no annual limit on a taxable brokerage account, unlike the Trump accounts — you can speed up the process. 

How to get started without a Trump account

The process for getting started is relatively easy and straightforward, and you can automate a fair amount of it, too, helping to reduce friction and other factors that may lower your returns.

1. Open a custodial stock account

If you’re saving specifically for a child, you’ll need to open a custodial account, which is held on behalf of a minor. The best brokers for beginners will offer custodial accounts, and they can be a good place to begin for investors who are looking to select their own funds and manage it all. 
 

For those who would prefer that someone else manage the portfolio, the best robo-advisors can set up and manage the investment portfolio. A robo-advisor can be a good solution for those who want a “set it and forget it” investment approach, making it easier to manage. 

2. Invest in an index fund

If you’re managing the portfolio yourself, you can select one of the best index funds, including one of the best S&P 500 index funds. S&P funds have a strong track record, and they’ll follow the stock index, which has delivered about 10 percent annual returns on average over time. While returns will fluctuate significantly from year to year, over time this average has remained stable.

An S&P 500 fund is also the top pick from superinvestor Warren Buffett, who has long advised individual investors to buy and hold this kind of fund. If you’re using a robo-advisor, you can set up the robo-advisor to invest in an S&P 500 fund or a similarly broadly diversified fund.

3. Add money to the account regularly

One of the most important steps to making this plan work is continuing to contribute to the account regularly over time. Adding money to the account regularly allows your child’s nest egg to continue to compound faster, and it also takes advantage of dips in the markets, so that your contribution buys more shares and lowers your risk — a process called dollar-cost averaging.
 

If you’re using a broker, you’ll need to actively buy shares regularly. If you’re working with a robo-advisor, you can simply deposit money into the account and the robo-advisor does the rest.

4. Hold on

This final step may sound like the easiest, but it’s actually the hardest. Over the course of time, you’ll be tempted to sell your investments, especially if the market falls. It’s only natural to want to avoid losses, but this move could run up significant capital-gains taxes and derail your ability to compound your money. Plus, if you sell, you’ll need to figure out when to get back into the market — meaning you’ll need to make two smart decisions: knowing precisely when to sell and when to buy.
 

That’s why experts routinely advise individual investors to take a long-term, buy-and-hold approach. Study after study shows that passive investing beats active investing, and you’ll reduce your stress and the time and energy you spend on investing, too.

Bottom line

While stacking your child’s account with a $1,000 at birth is nice, you’ll build real wealth by contributing to the account regularly over time, investing in high-return assets like stock funds, and then giving your money plenty of time to compound. Those three things can turn your child — or really any American — into a millionaire. And there’s no special account required.

Editorial Disclaimer: All investors are advised to conduct their own independent research into investment strategies before making an investment decision. In addition, investors are advised that past investment product performance is no guarantee of future price appreciation.