President Donald Trump’s administration is poised to receive an estimated “$10 billion” fee from investors involved in the deal that transferred control of TikTok’s U.S. operations from Chinese parent company ByteDance to a new American-led entity, according to the Wall Street Journal, which cites people familiar with the matter. In January, ByteDance finalized the creation of a majority American-owned joint venture designed to safeguard U.S. user data and satisfy national security concerns that had threatened the app with a ban, despite its more than 200 million American users. The new company, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, is tasked with securing U.S. user data, applications and algorithms through data privacy and cybersecurity measures, though few specific details of the divestiture have been disclosed publicly.
The agreement grants investors aligned with the administration control over TikTok’s U.S. business and requires them to make substantial payments to the U.S. Treasury in addition to their initial capital commitments. Backers including Oracle, Silver Lake and Abu Dhabi’s MGX have already paid about $2.5 billion at closing and are obligated to make further payments until the total reaches $10 billion, which is characterized as compensation for the administration’s role in “rescuing” TikTok’s American operations and steering negotiations with China. Officials argue that this fee is justified by the government’s involvement in addressing lawmakers’ national security worries while enabling the deal to move forward.
TikTok and the White House have not immediately responded to requests for comment, while the arrangement faces legal and political scrutiny. Earlier in March, Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi were sued by retail investors in two rival social media firms seeking to overturn the president’s approval of ByteDance’s joint-venture plan, reflecting ongoing controversy over the financial and competitive implications of the TikTok restructuring.
Reference
Reuters. (2026, March 13). Trump administration set to receive $10 billion fee for brokering TikTok deal, WSJ reports. Reuters. https://www.reuters.com/world/china/trump-administration-set-receive-10-billion-fee-brokering-tiktok-deal-wsj-2026-03-13/