The U.S. stake in Intel may be the beginning of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, Hassett says
Aug. 25, 2025 10:16 AM ET
Intel Corporation (INTC) Stock FNMA, FMCCBy: Liz Kiesche, SA News Editor
The U.S. government's 10% stake in Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) may form the base of a U.S. sovereign wealth fund, Kevin Hassett, director of the National Economic Council, said in a broadcast interview on Monday. "At some point," he expects more transactions in chips and other industries.
President Donald Trump, going back to his 2024 campaign, had indicated that he'd like to build up a sovereign wealth fund. Such funds are usually held by countries that have large oil reserves, such as Saudi Arabia and Norway.
However, Hassett noted that Intel (NASDAQ: INTC) is a "very, very special circumstance," due to the large amounts of money from the CHIPS Act "coming Intel's way."
"It's not really a taking," he said of the U.S. government's new 10% stake in chipmaker Intel ( INTC). Under the CHIPS Act, signed by President Joe Biden, the "U.S. government decided to give a whole bunch of money to Intel, and President Trump and (Commerce Secretary) Howard Lutnick talked to Intel about the progress they were making and the hurdles they had to hop over to get money," he explained in an interview on CNBC. "In the end, they worked out a deal where Intel is going to get the CHIPS money, but in exchange we're going to get some equity."
It's not voting equity, "so there's not going to be government intrusion into the business of Intel ( INTC). It's more like a down payment on a sovereign wealth fund, which many, many countries have," Hassett said. However, with or without equity stakes, Trump has not hesitated to pressure companies to change tactics that he doesn't agree with. For example, he has criticized companies that had planned to disclose how much tariffs were adding to the price of goods.
The president, though, said the U.S. paid nothing for the Intel ( INTC) stake. "I PAID ZERO FOR INTEL, IT IS WORTH APPROXIMATELY 11 BILLION DOLLARS. All goes to the USA," he wrote in a social media post. "I will make deals like that for our Country all day long. I will also help those companies that make such lucrative deals with the United States States [sic]. I love seeing their stock price go up, making the USA RICHER, AND RICHER. More jobs for America!!! Who would not want to make deals like that?"
Intel ( INTC) stock gained 1.3% in early Monday trading.
"In the past, the federal government has been giving away money, lickety-split, to companies and the taxpayers have been receiving nothing in return," Hassett said on CNBC. "So now, what's happening now, with the Intel deal, the CHIPS Act money is going out as planned, but instead of it just going out and disappearing into the ether, the U.S. taxpayers are getting a little bit of equity."
Regarding the criticism that the U.S. government is embedding itself in industry, the president's economic adviser said, "we're absolutely not in the business of picking winners and losers."
He points out that the stake in Intel ( INTC) is not unprecedented. For example, the U.S. government owns most of Fannie Mae ( OTCQB:FNMA) and Freddie Mac ( OTCQB:FMCC), which the government took control of during the 2008 financial crisis. The Trump administration has been seeking to offload those stakes through potential stock offerings.
"What President Trump wants to do at all points in time is to maximize the value of taxpayer dollars," Hassett said. |
