Trump made stock transactions worth up to $270M in July
What's the story
US President Donald Trump made over 1,000 stock transactions in July alone, according to an analysis by The Guardian. The transactions were worth between $79 million and $270 million. The president's two biggest sales were of Amazon and Microsoft stocks on July 20. He sold between $5 million and $25 million worth of each company's shares on that day.
Portfolio
Other notable trades by Trump on same day
On the same day as the major sales, Trump also sold up to $5 million worth of Oracle and Costco stocks.
He made smaller sales in NVIDIA ($500,000-$1 million) and bought up to $5 million worth of stocks in Intuit and Salesforce.
Overall, he made more than 700 sales that totaled between $35 million and $137 million.
Strategy
White House defends Trump's portfolio
The White House defended Trump's stock and bond portfolio, saying it is "independently managed by third-party financial institutions."
Davis Ingle, a spokesperson for the White House, said all holdings are maintained in discretionary accounts and invested through computer-based model portfolios.
He added that neither Trump nor his family members have any influence over how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold.
Trading habits
Trump's trading activity outpaces US Congress
Despite widespread voter disapproval of elected officials trading stocks, Trump has continued his practice.
A Bloomberg analysis found that he made more trades than all of Congress combined from the start of his second term to June.
His last annual financial disclosures showed he made over $2.2 billion last year from his business and investment empire, including $1 billion in cryptocurrency revenue.
Financial transparency
Gifts to White House officials raise eyebrows
Trump's financial disclosures have also revealed large cash gifts to White House officials, including a $45,000 gift to his close aide Natalie Harp.
This has led to calls from watchdog groups for further investigation.
The president has also made up to $15.5 million from investments in oil and gas companies due to rising gas prices from the US-Iran war.