Government Ownership Stakes in Private Businesses

Recent Developments:

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Mon, Aug 3, 2026:

• The hidden cost of the government’s corporate buying spree. With $4 billion spent on equity stakes since December, Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick is increasingly entangling the U.S. government in the private sector. - WP

Thurs, July 30, 2026:

• Commerce Department quietly announces 7 new equity stakes in private companies - Hill

Wed, May 27, 2026:

• The Trump Administration Is in Talks to Fund U.S. Drone Companies

  Neros and Donald Trump Jr.-linked Unusual Machines are among companies in deal talks - WSJ

Thurs, May 21, 2026:

• U.S. to Award Quantum-Computing Firms $2 Billion and Take Equity Stakes. Trump administration hopes to spur ‘a new era of American innovation,’ Commerce Secretary Lutnick says - WSJ

Wed, May 6, 2026:

• How the Trump Administration Became an Activist Investor. The president’s reach for government stakes in private companies has business leaders scrambling. - WSJ

Wed, April 22, 2026:

• US Could Own Up to 90% of Spirit in $500 Million Rescue Plan - Bloomberg

Thurs, April 16, 2026:

• A new exports program to package full-stack AI products, from chips and data centers to models and applications, is designed to get American know-how to global markets and counter China’s global push. Firms accepted into the program and foreign buyers will get official advocacy, U.S. financing, export license priority and other support. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick will decide who gets into the program, in consultation with the Secretary of State, Director of Office and Science and Technology Policy and other agencies, according to a Commerce department official. - Politico

Fri, April 3, 2026:

• Trump’s America Is Slouching Toward State Capitalism - Bloomberg
  Bloomberg Intelligence expects that the administration will continue to tap into the hundreds of billions in federal funding meant for loans and grants to instead secure equity in public and private companies.

Mon, Feb 2, 2026:

• Crony Socialism and Rare Earths. Government stakes in companies is the wrong way to beat China. - WSJ Editorial Bd.

Fri, Jan 16 2026:

• Congressional Repubs might finally jump off the hamster wheel - George Will
  Trump made the federal government the largest shareholder in Intel, took for the government a “golden share” in U.S. Steel, demanded for the government 25 percent of the revenue from Nvidia’s sale of advanced semiconductor chips to China, and endorsed price controls on credit (a 10 percent cap on credit card interest rates)

Tues, Dec 2, 2025:

• US to take $150m stake in chip startup led by Gelsinger – Bloomberg

Tues, Nov 25, 2025:

• $10 Billion and Counting: Trump Administration Snaps Up Stakes in Private Firms. The Trump administration is spending billions of dollars on deals with ownership stakes in companies. The unusual practice shows no sign of slowing. – NYT

Sat, Nov 22, 2025:

• ‘I hate it’: Lawmakers question Trump’s ownership blitz. The Trump administration taking stakes in private mineral producers is facing bipartisan pushback on Capitol Hill. – Politico