WASHINGTON, April 30 (Reuters) - The topic of financial literacy may not excite most middle-school students, but the U.S. Treasury sought to stir their interest on Thursday at an event tying money skills to World Cup soccer, Marvel comic book heroes and an AI-powered virtual Alexander Hamilton.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent urged more than 50 students from Washington-area schools to sign up for the new tax-free "Trump accounts" for savers under 18.
• Bessent, who has championed the development of
basic financial knowledge among U.S. youth, hosted the students at the Treasury's historic Cash Room to cap its Financial Literacy Month.
• Bessent plugged the Treasury-administered Trump accounts, which include a bonus $1,000 Treasury contribution for those born between 2025 and 2028. He also touted a revamped mymoney.gov website offering money management educational tools.
• "As the United States celebrates its 250th anniversary this year, I believe that embedding financial literacy into the fabric of our great nation is more important than ever in today's world," Bessent said. "Financial literacy is a necessity, just like reading and writing."
• The financial literacy "fair" featured a World Cup soccer-themed video game quiz show, in which students competed for "goals" by answering questions correctly on interest rates, assets, liabilities and savings.
• Corporate sponsor Visa produced comic books featuring Marvel's Guardians of the Galaxy and The Avengers resolving crises through smart savings techniques.
• An AI Alexander Hamilton bot patterned after the first U.S. Treasury secretary, developed by Fidelity, produced Nvidia stock charts and summarized major index moves upon request, but faltered a bit when asked to explain the yen's sharp rise against the dollar on Thursday.
(Reporting by David Lawder; Editing by Edmund Klamann)
