The $1,000 seed can grow substantially, but seven-figure wealth requires decades of compounding, continued contributions, and strong market returns.

No — or at least, not by the time they finish high school.

Depending on how they’re funded, a Trump Account could turn a child into a decamillionaire by retirement, or it might just be worth about $4,300 on their eighteenth birthday. As with any account, three variables dictate the outcome: contributions, rate of return, and time.

What might Trump Accounts actually be worth for children born this year? A thousand dollars takes a very long time to become a million dollars. That initial thousand dollars for children born during this administration could grow to be $4,342.45 (8.5 percent annual return), $5,122.17 (9.5 percent annual return), or $6,032.83 (10.5 percent annual return) by the time they turn 18. That’s nice, but not life-changing.

Does this mean Trump Accounts won’t materially benefit a lot of kids? No. The magic of the numbers really comes from the basic principles of compound interest over long periods of time, not anything special or magical about the Trump Accounts themselves.

Extending the time horizon to retirement, however, is a different story. These Trump Accounts could be worth a lot if funded aggressively and left to compound over a lifetime. By the time a child born today reaches retirement age in 2093, that $1,000 seed money could be worth: $236,478.93 (8.5 percent annual return), $437,266.28 (9.5 percent annual return), or a whopping $804,030.69 (10.5 percent annual return).

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