US Government Holds $27 Billion in Corporate Stakes

The U.S. government, particularly during the Trump administration, has amassed a significant portfolio of corporate investments totaling approximately $26.7 billion across at least 30 equity or quasi-equity deals. A prominent example is a 9.9% stake in chipmaker Intel, which has since grown in value to $42 billion. Other notable investments include $400 million allocated to rare-earth miner MP Materials, aimed at reducing China's dominance in magnet supply chains. The government also retained a "golden share" in U.S. Steel as a condition for its sale to Japan's Nippon Steel, and has made numerous investments in quantum computing firms. Despite the substantial financial commitment, the transparency surrounding these government holdings is notably lacking. There is no single, consolidated ledger detailing the government's equity interests, which are instead dispersed across at least four federal agencies: the Department of Commerce (17 deals), the Department of Defense (seven deals), the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation (DFI) (six deals), and the Department of Energy (two deals). The DFI is the only agency with explicit statutory authority to own equity, established by Congress in 2018 for international development purposes. The White House has not provided immediate comment on requests for information regarding these investments. A spokesperson for the Treasury Department indicated that agencies report their equity interests in varied formats, contingent on the legal basis for each stake. Some of these "stakes" are formalized agreements, while others, such as nine quantum computing deals announced by the Commerce Department within a single week, are less defined and may represent preliminary term sheets rather than finalized investments. The most comprehensive public record of the U.S. government's investment portfolio is maintained by the Council on Foreign Relations, a non-profit think tank. Jonathan Hillman, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations who manages this tracker, stated that the announced deals represent "only the tip of the iceberg." He emphasized that the "real test will be whether Washington can build a system to effectively manage its growing portfolio of investments over the long run." The most thoroughly documented investment within this portfolio is the largest one: Intel's securities filings from August 2025 provide detailed information on the government's stake in the semiconductor company. The lack of a centralized system for tracking and managing these diverse investments raises concerns about oversight and accountability, particularly given the potential for conflicts of interest and the government's expanding role in strategic industries.