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President Donald Trump’s administration is expected to receive approximately $10 billion in fees from investors following the recent agreement to assume control of TikTok’s U.S. operations, reports The Wall Street Journal on Friday, citing sources familiar with the situation.
In January, TikTok’s Chinese parent company, ByteDance, finalized a deal to form a majority-American joint venture that safeguards U.S. data, aiming to prevent a potential ban of the popular short video app—used by over 200 million Americans.
The TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC will protect U.S. user data, applications, and algorithms through comprehensive data privacy and cybersecurity protocols. The company provided limited details about the divestiture.
Vice President JD Vance stated in September that the new U.S.-based company would be valued at around $14 billion.
The $10 billion fee is part of an agreement enabling investor allies of the Trump administration to take control of TikTok’s U.S. operations away from ByteDance, according to WSJ.
This payment comes on top of previous investments made to establish a new entity to operate the app in the United States. Investors such as Oracle, Silver Lake, Abu Dhabi’s MGX, and others paid roughly $2.5 billion to the Treasury Department at closing. These investors are expected to make additional payments until the total reaches $10 billion, WSJ reports.
Neither TikTok nor the White House immediately responded to requests for comment.
Officials have justified the fee, citing Trump’s role in salvaging TikTok’s U.S. operations and leading negotiations with China to finalize the deal while addressing lawmakers’ national security concerns, according to WSJ.
Earlier this month, Trump and U.S. Attorney General Pam Bondi faced lawsuits from retail investors of two competing social media platforms for TikTok, seeking to overturn the president’s approval of ByteDance’s plan to create a U.S.-based majority-owned joint venture.
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