The Donald Trump administration is poised to receive $10 billion from investors as part of a deal transferring TikTok’s U.S. operations from its Chinese parent company to American ownership.
US Government To Collect $10 Billion From TikTok Deal
Under the arrangement, investors, including Oracle Corp. (NYSE:ORCL), MGX, and Silver Lake, who now control TikTok’s U.S. operations, will pay the government the $10 billion transaction fee in installments, according to a The Wall Street Journal report.
The Payments follow an initial $2.5 billion payment to the Treasury when the deal closed in January.
President Trump previously described the arrangement as a “tremendous fee-plus,” highlighting the government’s role in the deal.
At the executive order signing in September, he told reporters, “It’s owned by Americans, and very sophisticated Americans. This is going to be American operated all the way.”
The move came amid bipartisan concerns that TikTok’s Chinese ownership posed a national security risk due to the platform’s popularity among U.S. users.
Financial experts have noted the fee is extraordinarily high for a government-brokered deal, with JD Vance estimating the U.S.-valued TikTok operations at about $14 billion.
Vance also noted that the government’s fee amounts to roughly 70% of the deal, a figure far higher than the typical 1% commission that investment bankers would earn in similar transactions.
Trump Faces Lawsuit Over TikTok Deal
Earlier this month, President Trump and Attorney General Pam Bondi were sued by investors Zhaocheng Anthony Tan and Garrett Reid, who claimed the deal allowing TikTok to become a separate American-owned entity was unlawful.
They argued it violated a law requiring ByteDance to divest or face a U.S. ban, and said the approval caused financial harm to them as investors in competing companies.
In January, Trump had pushed to ban TikTok over national security concerns but reversed course in 2024, joining the platform to reach millions of voters, especially younger users.
He debuted with a high-energy post at a UFC fight in Newark, New Jersey, waving to fans and addressing viewers directly.
Last year, TikTok expanded into short-form entertainment with in-app “Minis,” featuring mini games and bite-sized drama series that kept viewers, discovery, and payments within the platform.
Disclaimer: This content was partially produced with the help of AI tools and was reviewed and published by Benzinga editors.
Photo courtesy: Eliseu Geisler on Shutterstock.com
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