By Bill Allison
President Donald Trump’s investments in municipal and corporate debt through December included bonds of some companies affected by his administration’s policies.
In all, the issues cost at least $51 million.
The new White House disclosure posted Thursday shows Trump’s buys included bonds from Netflix Inc., CoreWeave Inc., General Motors Co., Boeing Co., Occidental Petroleum Corp. and United Rentals Inc. He also purchased municipal bonds from American cities and local school districts, utilities and hospitals.
The report, which all federal elected officials and appointees who trade must submit, doesn’t specify exact amounts or prices, since only broad ranges of transactions involving stocks, bonds, commodity futures and other securities are required. Trump reported making 189 purchases and two sales, the latter for at least $1.3 million, between Nov. 14 and Dec. 29 of last year.
The disclosure was dated Jan. 14 and approved by a White House ethics official the following day. The president also amended an earlier report, changing the value of four transactions.
The investments are just the latest example of how Trump has continued to build wealth during his presidency. He has also regularly mixed his personal business with official duties, drawing questions about potential conflicts of interest.
The White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
In August, Trump reported 690 transactions he’d made since returning to the White House in January 2025, totaling at least $104 million. He made further transactions disclosed in November and December that totaled $106 million, including three other sales with a value of $2 million.
When the August report was issued, a senior White House official said that neither Trump nor any of his family members made the investment decisions. Independent financial managers made the bond purchases using programs that replicate recognized indexes when making investments, the official said, adding that the Office of Government Ethics signed off on the filings.
That’s true of transactions in subsequent reports as well, according to a White House official.
Unlike his predecessors, Trump didn’t divest or move his assets into a blind trust with an independent overseer. His sprawling business empire is managed by two of his sons and operates in several areas that intersect with presidential policy.
Trump has promoted Boeing Co. aircraft on visits to foreign capitals, and touted the company’s sales of planes to airlines in Qatar, Japan and other countries.
While visiting a Ford Motor Co. factory in Detroit on Tuesday, Trump highlighted the plans of a rival, General Motors Co., to shift production of the Chevrolet Blazer and Equinox from Mexico back to the US, claiming the move shows the success of his tariff policies in bolstering domestic manufacturing.
Netflix is currently locked in a contentious fight with Paramount Skydance Corp. for Warner Bros. Discovery Inc., setting up a major antitrust test for Trump’s administration regardless of who wins the merger fight. Trump has said he plans to be personally involved in reviewing whichever merger succeeds and Hollywood has been watching the president closely for any indication of how he is sizing up the battle for an iconic studio.
