President Trump’s newest financial disclosures show 189 purchases and two sales between Nov. 14 and Dec. 29, including bonds tied to Victoria’s Secret, Netflix, Boeing and other corporations, as well as municipal debt. The filings — which report ranges rather than exact amounts — have renewed ethics concerns because the investments overlap with industries the administration influences. The White House says the Office of Government Ethics reviewed the filings and that family members did not make investment decisions, but critics call for greater transparency and stronger conflict-of-interest safeguards.
Trump’s New Financial Disclosures Spotlight Entangled Family Finances And Conflicts Of Interest
President Donald Trump’s latest financial-disclosure forms renew concerns about potential conflicts between his family’s private investments and the industries his administration influences. The filings show a series of bond purchases tied to major corporations and municipal entities, continuing a pattern first revealed in last year’s disclosures.
What The Filings Reveal
The disclosure covers transactions between Nov. 14 and Dec. 29 of last year and lists 189 purchases and two sales, one sale valued at least $1.3 million. Among the reported purchases are corporate bonds tied to companies such as Victoria’s Secret, Netflix, CoreWeave, General Motors, Boeing, Occidental Petroleum and United Rentals, along with municipal bonds from cities, school districts, utilities and hospitals.
Politico reported that the Trump family bought hundreds of thousands of dollars’ worth of Victoria’s Secret bonds, linking the president’s finances to that retailer. That company was long associated with Les Wexner, whose past connection to the late Jeffrey Epstein has drawn scrutiny; Wexner left the company in 2020 and has denied wrongdoing.
Bloomberg: The disclosure does not specify exact amounts or prices because federal filings report only broad ranges of transactions involving stocks, bonds and other securities. The report covers 189 purchases and two sales made during the stated period.
Ethics Office And White House Statement
A senior White House official previously told Bloomberg that 'neither Trump nor any of his family members made the investment decisions' and that the Office of Government Ethics reviewed and signed off on the filings. The disclosure form itself does not identify who placed the trades or the precise dollar amounts for many holdings, providing only ranges.
President Donald Trump at a campaign rally as his children Tiffany Trump, Eric Trump, and Donald Trump Jr. on Nov. 04, 2024 in Pittsburgh.(Chip Somodevilla / Getty Images)
Why Critics Are Concerned
Ethics experts and watchdogs say the concentration of holdings in sectors touched by presidential policy raises clear questions about conflicts of interest. Critics point to incidents such as a widely reported hot-mic exchange in which Trump appeared to arrange a business meeting between Indonesia’s president and a Trump son as evidence that the separation between family business and official duties is porous.
Supporters of the president note the role of ethics reviews and the limitations of what disclosure forms reveal; opponents say those safeguards do not eliminate the appearance — or the reality — of competing interests when official actions may affect assets tied to the president’s financial network.
The disclosures have renewed calls for stronger transparency rules and safeguards to ensure official decisions are made in the public interest, not to benefit private family holdings.
Originally published on MS NOW. Reporting referenced Politico and Bloomberg disclosures.
Help us improve.
