Trump pocketed Rp168 trillion from the TikTok deal? US investors are said to pay "rescue costs"

JAKARTA - The administration of US President Donald Trump is reportedly set to receive payments of up to around 10 billion US dollars or equivalent to more than Rp168 trillion from investors who take over TikTok's operations in the United States. The information was revealed by The Wall Street Journal on Friday, March 13, citing sources that know the deal directly.

This agreement comes after Chinese TikTok parent company ByteDance in January completed a restructuring of TikTok's business in the United States to avoid potential bans on the short video app by the US government. TikTok has more than 200 million users in the United States, making it one of the largest social media platforms in the country.

In the new structure, TikTok's operations in the US are run by a joint venture company called TikTok USDS Joint Venture LLC, which is majority owned by American investors. This entity was formed to ensure the security of US user data as well as the management of the application and algorithms through stricter data protection and cybersecurity systems.

US Vice President JD Vance previously said the new company was expected to have a valuation of around $14 billion.

"The new company that will manage TikTok in the United States is estimated to be worth around 14 billion dollars," Vance said in a previous statement regarding the restructuring.

According to a report by The Wall Street Journal, the payment of up to 10 billion US dollars to the US government is part of an agreement that allows investors close to the Trump administration to take control of TikTok's operations in America from ByteDance.

Investors involved in the transaction include technology company Oracle, investment firm Silver Lake, and Abu Dhabi-based technology investor MGX, among others.

The investors are said to have paid around 2.5 billion US dollars to the US Treasury when the official deal was closed. Additional payments will be made gradually until a total of around 10 billion US dollars is reached.

Trump administration officials defended the payment scheme by calling it compensation for the US government's role in saving TikTok's operations in the country while facilitating negotiations with China so that the app is not banned completely.

"The cost is justified because President Trump played a role in saving TikTok's operations in the United States and led negotiations with China to complete the deal while addressing national security concerns," the Wall Street Journal report quoted government officials as saying.

However, this deal also triggered a lawsuit. Earlier this month, President Trump and US Attorney General Pam Bondi were sued by retail investors who owned shares in two TikTok rival social media companies. They asked the court to cancel the government's approval of the formation of a joint venture company majority owned by American investors.

Neither TikTok nor the White House has responded officially when asked for comment by Reuters.

Amid the technology rivalry between the United States and China, TikTok's restructuring in the US market shows how the short video platform has transformed from a mere entertainment app into a strategic asset worth tens of billions of dollars that is now at the center of global geopolitical and business interests.