Trump Administration Set to Receive $10 Billion Fee from TikTok US Deal

The administration of Donald Trump is set to receive nearly $10 billion in fees for mediating a completed deal that transferred control of TikTok’s US operations from ByteDance. The information was reported by The Wall Street Journal, according to Reuters.

The report said that under the terms of the agreement, investment firms involved in the TikTok US joint venture will pay the fee. When the deal was finalized in January, approximately $2.5 billion was paid to the United States Department of the Treasury. The remaining amount will be paid in phases.

Under US law, the Chinese-owned company ByteDance was required to sell TikTok’s US operations in the interest of national security. In this context, a new entity named TikTok USDS Joint Venture was formed, in which US and international investors hold 80.1 percent ownership, while ByteDance retains 19.9 percent. Oracle, Silver Lake, and MGX each hold a 15 percent stake.

Officials from the administration have described the fee as “fair.” According to them, Trump safeguarded TikTok’s US operations by addressing national security concerns raised by Congress and conducting complex negotiations with China.

Recently, JD Vance valued TikTok’s US business at $14 billion. Based on that valuation, the $10 billion fee represents more than 70 percent of the company’s assessed value—an amount described by The Wall Street Journal as “unprecedented” compared with fees in major financial transactions.

Meanwhile, earlier this month, retail investors associated with two social media platforms competing with TikTok filed a lawsuit against Trump and Pam Bondi. They alleged that the approval of the deal violated the law.

DBTech/BMT/OR