Trump Regrets Smaller Intel Stake; Holdings Surge to $50B in 8 Months

According to Fortune magazine, President Trump expressed regret over the U.S. government’s stake in Intel being too small. In August last year, the Trump administration converted approximately $8.9 billion in subsidies from the Chips Act into equity, acquiring about 433 million Intel shares at $20.47 per share for a 9.9% stake. Just 8 months later, the holding surged to over $50 billion in value, generating unrealized gains exceeding $41 billion.

The gains reflect direct government intervention to support Intel’s business. The Wall Street Journal reported that Apple reached a preliminary agreement with Intel for chip manufacturing, breaking Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company’s dominance. U.S. Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick, as a major Intel shareholder, met repeatedly with Apple CEO Tim Cook over the past year to encourage orders to Intel. Meanwhile, Nvidia’s AI chip boom has strained TSMC’s capacity, prompting Apple to diversify suppliers.