Financial disclosures provide a window into the management of the billionaire’s wealth while he is in office, showing that US President Donald Trump has purchased more than $100 million in company and municipal bonds since his return to the White House.
Nearly 700 financial purchases were made by Trump from his January 21 inauguration to August 1, according to documents released by the US Office of Government Ethics on Wednesday.
The purchases include those made by financial tycoons like Meta, UnitedHealth, T-Mobile, and The Home Depot as well as those made by financial tycoons Wells Fargo, Morgan Stanley, and Citigroup.
Trump’s investments span hospitals, schools, airports, ports, and gas projects, with representation from dozens of US states, including Texas, Florida, and New York.
The documents do not provide the value of each transaction, only broad ranges, such as $100, 001- $250, 000 and $1, 000, 001- $5, 000, 000.
During the time period, Trump did not disclose any sales.
Bonds are a type of fixed-income investment that are exchanged for a specific interest rate by a government agency or business.
According to administration officials, who cited administration officials as saying that Trump and his family weren’t directly involved in the transactions, the White House did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
US presidents are required to disclose a thorough analysis of their finances under legislation passed in 1978 following the Watergate scandal, but they are not required to sell any assets that might lead to conflicts of interest.
Prior to Trump, all US presidents who served in office had established a blind trust or pledged to only invest in diversified mutual funds.
Trump controversially abandoned that custom and instead gave control of his business to a trust that his children run.
Concerns about how Trump’s governance and his personal fortune intersect have been a source of controversy for years among government ethics experts.
If the Federal Reserve lowers interest rates as he has demanded, Richard Painter, former president of the White House ethics lawyer, noted that Trump’s bond holdings could increase in value.
Bond prices rise when interest rates drop, according to Painter, according to the Al Jazeera report. No wonder he wants to see a rate cut from the Fed!
Source: Aljazeera
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