Only one person has bought into Donald Trump's million-dollar idea

Tuesday, 28 April 2026 12:54

The proposal was meant to put a trillion dollars into the US government coffers. It's nowhere close.

When Donald Trump launched his much-vaunted "gold card" pathway to citizenship program, his Commerce Secretary said they had sold 1300 of them in several days.

But months later and testifying under oath, the same secretary has admitted just one person has bought a gold card.

The president and his cabinet had been touting the program, in which a foreigner can be granted residency to the US if they pay $US1 million (A$1.4 million).

The Trump Gold Card bears the president's face and signature.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick said the program could raise $1 trillion in revenue for the government.

For that optimistic target to be reached, a million millionaires would need to buy one.

Now Lutnick has admitted just one person has received a gold card.

"There are hundreds in the queue that they are going through," he said.

The disappointing result has drawn the mockery of elected Democrats.

"Trump promised his 'Gold Card' program would bring in over a billion dollars for the US," California Representative Jimmy Gomez said.

"It didn't even come close. Here's just how badly it fell short."

The recipient of the only gold card so far has not been identified.

President Donald Trump greets Nicki Minaj during the event "Trump Accounts" at the Andrew W. Mellon Auditorium, Wednesday, Jan. 28, 2026, in Washington.

The president had presented Trinidadian rapper Nicki Minaj with a gold card earlier this year, but she said she had not paid for it.

Minaj is a permanent resident of the US and said she was finalising her citizenship paperwork in January. She came to the US as an illegal immigrant as a five-year-old.

Applicants also need to pay a $US15,000 ($A20,000) processing fee and pass a background test.

A corporate gold card would allow businesses to bring in foreign employees for a $US2 million contribution.

The White House has also proposed a "Trump Platinum Card".

Howard Lutnick said only one person had been approved for a Trump Gold Card.

Foreign nationals who make a $US5 million contribution will have the capacity to spend 270 days in the US without being subject to any American taxes on non-American income.

Australia previously had a "golden visa" for high-income investors looking to move here.

The Significant Investor Visa required applicants to spend a minimum of $5 million in investments in Australia.

The visa was axed in 2024.

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