Nicki Minaj is bringing celebrity to federal finance.
The rap superstar is set to appear at a U.S. Treasury Department summit this week, where the Trump administration will formally launch “Trump Accounts,” a new government-backed investment program for children. It’s a move that places Minaj not just adjacent to MAGA politics, but squarely inside the machinery of Trump-era policymaking, this time with Wall Street language, tax credits, and a stage built inside Washington.
The summit will feature President Trump and Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent, alongside a curious mix of pop culture and business figures, including Shark Tank investor Kevin O’Leary and Curb Your Enthusiasm actress Cheryl Hines, who is married to Health Secretary Robert Kennedy Jr. The optics appear to make a deliberate statement that star power meets state power.
At the center of it all are Trump Accounts, a new category of investment account created under last year’s One Big Beautiful Bill Act. Available to children under 18, the accounts function similarly to IRAs, allowing investments to grow tax-free. Once account holders reach adulthood, the money can be accessed, but only for approved purposes such as education, purchasing a home, starting a business, or retirement.
Minaj confirmed her participation with an enthusiastic post on X, framing the initiative as generational uplift. Calling it “the true meaning of paying it forward,” she praised the focus on early financial literacy, adding that children could one day teach their own parents how to invest. “This makes me very happy,” she wrote.
To jumpstart the program, the administration has pledged $1,000 in seed money via a tax credit for every baby born during Trump’s second term. However, enrollment won’t be automatic. Parents must sign their children up. In a separate push, philanthropists Michael and Susan Dell have pledged $6.25 billion in donations meant to be distributed in $250 increments to children under 10. Eligibility will be determined by zip code, targeting areas where the median household income falls below $150,000.
The administration’s enthusiasm for the initiative is unmistakable. According to Rolling Stone, plans reportedly include a Super Bowl commercial touting Trump Accounts, signaling a push to sell the program directly to American families. This is all unfolding during a worsening affordability crisis, an aggressive immigration crackdown, and heightened scrutiny following another ICE shooting of a U.S. citizen in Minneapolis.
For Minaj, the Treasury appearance is less a one-off than a continuation. Over the past year, she has steadily aligned herself with Trump and the MAGA movement, most recently making a surprise appearance at Turning Point USA’s AmericaFest alongside Erika Kirk, the widow of conservative activist Charlie Kirk.
Hip-hop has long shaped American culture. This week, one of its biggest stars steps fully inside the building to help the Trump administration pitch its vision of the future, one child-sized investment account at a time.
