WASHINGTON — The Trump administration is set to receive roughly $10 billion from investors in the recently completed deal to take control of TikTok U.S. operations, The Wall Street Journal reported Friday, citing sources familiar with the matter.
Read More: Trump approves $14 billion tiktok US sale plan
TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, finalized the agreement in January to establish a majority American-owned joint venture, designed to secure U.S. user data and avoid a potential ban on the popular short-video app, which has over 200 million American users. The new entity, TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, will implement enhanced data privacy and cybersecurity measures to safeguard U.S. data, apps, and algorithms.
Breaking: The Trump administration will receive a $10 billion fee for brokering the deal that kept TikTok alive in the U.S. https://t.co/nXGP5ql3vL
— The Wall Street Journal (@WSJ) March 13, 2026
According to the report, investors including Oracle, Silver Lake, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and others paid an initial $2.5 billion to the U.S. Treasury Department at closing. Subsequent payments will be made until the total fee reaches $10 billion. Vice President JD Vance previously indicated that the new U.S. company would be valued at around $14 billion.
Officials cited in the Journal said the fee is justified due to Trump’s role in rescuing TikTok’s U.S. operations and facilitating negotiations with China while addressing lawmakers’ national security concerns. TikTok and the White House did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
The transaction comes amid legal challenges from retail investors in two social media companies, who sued Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi earlier this month, seeking to reverse the administration-approved deal. The plaintiffs argued that the agreement unfairly benefitted certain investors and questioned the U.S. government’s role in approving the majority American ownership structure.
Read More: Trump approves $14 billion tiktok US sale plan
The TikTok U.S. deal marks one of the most high-profile interventions by the Trump administration in technology and national security, reflecting ongoing U.S. concerns over Chinese-owned apps and data privacy.