Trump says he can give Americans $2,000 tariff dividend ‘without Congress’ because ‘so much money’ coming in. Do this when (and if) you get your cash

“I don’t think we would have to go the Congress route, but, you know, we’ll find out,” Trump said during a press conference (2).

He then pointed to the revenue his tariff policy is generating.

“The reason we’re even talking about it is that we have so much money coming in from tariffs that we’ll be able to issue at least a $2,000 dividend and also pay down debt for the country,” he said, adding that the administration would likely set an income limit for those who qualify.

In 2025, tariffs brought in $287 billion in revenue — a 192% increase year over year (3). Still, that figure pales in comparison to the country’s staggering national debt, which now stands at more than $38.5 trillion (4).

Erica York, vice president of federal tax policy at the Tax Foundation, has argued that “there’s no money leftover” to pay down debt after distributing tariff rebate checks.

York has also pushed back on Trump’s claim that Congress could be bypassed.

In a post on X, she wrote (5), “The president is wrong about who has the authority to spend tariff revenue (it is Congress, not him) and about how spending tariff revenue on rebate checks would affect the national debt (it would increase it).”

Still, Trump has continued to express confidence in following through.

“We will be able to make a very substantial dividend to the people of our country. I believe we can do that without Congress,” he said (2).

For many households, that raises an immediate question: What’s the smartest way to use a sudden cash infusion?

Whether you’re focused on strengthening your finances, preparing for uncertainty, or putting that extra money to work, here are a few ways Americans may consider investing their potential windfall to really make it count.

‘The only thing that’s going up big’

The U.S. stock market has been a powerful engine of wealth creation — a point Trump has repeatedly emphasized. Recently, he said (6), “The only thing that’s really going up big? It’s the stock market and your 401(k)s.”

The benchmark S&P 500 returned about 16% in 2025 and is up roughly 87% over the past five years.

Those gains have flowed through to retirement accounts. According to Fidelity, the average 401(k) balance climbed 9% from a year ago to $144,400 in Q3 of 2025 — an all-time high (7).

Still, not all stocks are the same. With markets near record highs, some experts are warning about froth and the risk of chasing momentum without doing the homework.

That’s where research-focused tools can help. Platforms like Moby aim to simplify the process. Their team of former hedge fund analysts does the heavy lifting — breaking down the market, flagging quality stocks and making the research easy to digest.

In fact, across nearly 400 stock picks over the past four years, Moby’s recommendations have beaten the S&P 500 by almost 12% on average.

Their research keeps you up-to-the-minute on market shifts and takes the guesswork out of choosing investments.

Plus, their reports are easy to understand for beginners, so you can become a smarter investor in just five minutes.

Bet on American innovation

Public markets show just one side of how wealth is created.

Many of the biggest and most successful tech companies remain privately held for years, growing behind the scenes and building incredible value long before the IPO bell is rung.

Venture capital is where the early bets on future giants are placed. But, for decades, venture capital has been one of the few remaining tables in finance where retail investors can’t get a seat.

Fundrise finally disrupted that dynamic a few years ago by launching a venture capital product with two goals. One: Build a portfolio of the most valuable private tech companies in the world. Two: Make it available to as many people as possible, with investments starting at just $10.

Today, Fundrise manages billions of dollars in private market assets and their venture capital product is designed specifically for investors who want to get in early on transformative technologies like AI.

Check out their venture portfolio today and start investing in minutes.

Build wealth through US real estate

Beyond equities, real estate has long been another cornerstone of wealth-building in America.

In fact, investing legend Warren Buffett has often pointed to real estate when explaining what a productive, income-generating asset looks like. In 2022, Buffett stated that if you offered him “1% of all the apartment houses in the country” for $25 billion, he would “write you a check (8).”

Why? Because regardless of what’s happening in the broader economy, people still need a place to live and apartments can consistently produce rent money.

Real estate also offers a built-in hedge against inflation. When inflation rises, property values often increase as well, reflecting the higher costs of materials, labor and land. At the same time, rental income tends to go up, providing landlords with a revenue stream that adjusts with inflation.