Trump Turns Uncle Sam Into a Shareholder: Inside His Shock $11B Intel Stake and the Companies Next on His List

US President Donald Trump is reshaping many aspects of how the US government typically works. In recent months, Trump and his cabinet have been aggressively pursuing equity stakes in private US firms they deem important to national security.

Despite mounting criticism of his industrial policy, Trump continues to defend his decision and has emphasised that he wants 'to get as much' as possible. 'You have stupid people say, "That's a shame. "It's not a shame, that's called business,' Trump had stated in late August.

Trump closed the first major deal with chipmaker Intel (NASDAQ: INTC). The US government converted nearly $11 billion (£8.1 billion) in Chips Act grants into a 10% equity stake in Intel. The company's stock price has surged over 25% since then. 'I hope I'm going to have many more cases like it,' Trump said of the Intel deal.

Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick facilitated talks with Intel. He said it is a mistake to award grants without securing anything in return.

In July, the US Defense Department said it would directly intervene in MP Materials (NYSE: MP), which owns the operational rare earth mine in the country. The department decided to purchase $400 million (£297.7 million) worth of the company's shares, making it the largest shareholder.

However, MP Materials CEO mentioned that the deal was different from Intel's, describing the rare earth producer's agreement with the US government as a 'public-private partnership.' The stock price has nearly doubled since the news of the deal became public.

The next on Trump's list of companies is Lithium Americas (NYSE: LAC), a pure-play US lithium company. Reports emerged late last week that the Trump Administration is planning to acquire a 10% stake in the company as part of a renegotiation of a $2.2 billion (£1.6 billion) government loan for its Thacker Pass project with General Motors. The mine is expected to become one of the largest sources of lithium when it becomes operational in 2028. Trump has also been pushing General Motors to give up its control over parts of the project and transfer them to Washington.

General Motors described the loan as a 'necessary part of the financing to commercialise this important national resource' and noted that Trump 'strongly supported' the mine in his first term, when he approved the project. Lithium Americas almost doubled in value in a day following reports of the government's plan to acquire a stake.

Trump is also eyeing stakes in defence contractors such as Lockheed Martin (NYSE: LMT). Lutnick had said in August that companies like Lockheed Martin are 'essentially an arm of the US government.'

'There's a monstrous discussion about defence,' he stated. 'Lockheed Martin makes 97% of their revenue from the US government.' However, Lutnick added that the deal was far from being finalised. Lockheed Martin shares have gained over 7% in the past one month.

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