Anabelle Colaco
22 May 2026, 13:06 GMT+10
NEW YORK CITY, New York: U.S. President Donald Trump disclosed more than 3,600 stock trades during the first quarter of 2026, revealing an unusually active investment portfolio that includes companies directly affected by his administration's policies.
The filing with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics shows that more than US$100 million may have changed hands over three months, with an average of about 50 trades per day, while the stock market was open.
Among the holdings was up to $6 million in Nvidia, whose advanced chips Trump approved for sale to China last year. The portfolio also included shares of military contractors Lockheed Martin, General Dynamics, and Northrop Grumman, companies whose fortunes have been influenced by the war in Iran.
Richard Painter, former chief White House ethics adviser under President George W. Bush, said the arrangement raises serious concerns. "If he were defense secretary, he would be committing a crime," Painter said. "Technically, he can do this, but it is a fundamental breach of trust."
Federal law generally bars government officials from holding assets that could be affected by their official duties, but the president is exempt from those restrictions.
Kimberly Benza, a spokesperson for the Trump Organization, said the president has no role in selecting investments. "Neither President Trump, his family, nor The Trump Organization plays any role in selecting, directing, or approving specific investments," Benza said. "They receive no advance notice of trading activity and provide no input regarding investment decisions or portfolio management."
Ethics experts say that even knowing what assets the president owns could influence decision-making on matters ranging from trade and defense to healthcare and contracting.
Trump historically held relatively little of his wealth in publicly traded stocks. That appears to have changed as his financial holdings expanded during his second term.
Since returning to the office, the Trump Organization has reportedly received tens of millions of dollars in licensing fees from overseas developers and hundreds of millions of dollars from cryptocurrency sales.
The portfolio includes shares of Nvidia, Apple, Boeing, and Tesla. The chief executives of all four companies recently accompanied Trump on his visit to China.
Other holdings include Intel, in which the U.S. government acquired a 10 percent stake last year, as well as consumer brands such as Shake Shack, Papa John's, and The Cheesecake Factory.
Recent presidents have generally avoided such conflicts by selling individual stocks, using diversified mutual funds, or placing assets in blind trusts. Presidents George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton used blind trusts; George W. Bush sold his stocks; Barack Obama invested in diversified funds; and Joe Biden did not actively trade.
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