WASHINGTON – US President Donald Trump has bought more than US$100 million (S$128 million) in company, state and municipal bonds since taking office in January, according to new disclosures which shed further light on the vast holdings of America’s billionaire president.
The forms, posted online on Aug 19, show the Republican former real estate mogul made more than 600 financial purchases since Jan 21, the day after he was inaugurated for his second term in the White House.
The Aug 12 filing from the US Office of Government Ethics does not list exact amounts for each purchase, only giving a broad range.
They include corporate bonds from Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, and Wells Fargo, as well as Meta, Qualcomm, The Home Depot, T-Mobile USA and UnitedHealth Group.
Other debt purchases include various bonds issued by cities, states, counties and school districts as well as gas districts, and other issuers.
The holdings cover sectors that could benefit from US policy shifts under his administration, such as financial deregulation.
A senior White House official said Trump continued to file mandatory disclosures about his investment portfolio but that neither he nor his family had a role in managing or selecting the bonds, which are managed by a third-party financial institution.
Federal ethics officials certified the reports, which are in compliance with applicable laws, according to the official, who declined to be named.
Mr Trump, a businessman-turned-politician, has said he has put his companies into a trust managed by his children.
“President Trump’s net worth has increased substantially, with much of that concentrated in crypto holdings and Trump Media. Given that, there is no evidence currently that his bond purchases are anything other than a prudent diversification within his billions of dollars in assets,” said Mr John Canavan, lead US analyst at Oxford Economics.
“It seems like he was primarily purchasing corporate and municipal bonds and others that are high quality and highly rated, so it’s just a way to take a little bit of risk off the table,” he said.
His annual disclosure form filed in June showed his income from various sources still ultimately accrues to the president – something that has opened him up to accusations of conflicts of interest.
In that disclosure, which appeared to cover the 2024 calendar year, Mr Trump reported more than US$600 million in income from cryptocurrencies, golf properties, licensing and other ventures.
It also showed the president’s push into crypto had added substantially to his wealth.
Overall, the president reported assets worth at least US$1.6 billion, according to a Reuters calculation at the time. REUTERS