According to a report by the American consumer news and business channel (CNBC) on September 9th, as the U.S.-Iran conflict continues to shake global markets, President Donald Trump's personal holdings in energy assets have also increased significantly in value.
According to reports, during the six months following the start of the US-Iran conflict, Trump’s energy stock trading on his investment account was very active. Based on an analysis by CNBC of Trump’s annual financial disclosures, quarterly corporate reports, and FactSet market data, from February 27, the eve of the war, to August 31, the value of Trump’s nine major oil and gas stocks increased by about $1.5 million to $4.4 million.
These stocks include Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Kinder Morgan, Marathon Oil, Occidental Petroleum, Phillips 66, Valero Energy, and Williams Companies. CNBC calculated the above profit ranges based on the approximate value of each stock held by Trump, as well as the price changes of these stocks from the close on February 27 to the close on August 31.
Additionally, as of June 29—the date when Trump last disclosed transactions—his account revealed buy transactions involving shares of the aforementioned nine companies, along with at least 23 sell transactions.
However, CNBC emphasized that it did not find any evidence indicating that Trump or his investment managers used the information gained from their early decisions to make trades. Nor did they find any evidence that Trump's financial interests influenced policy-making, or that he instructed any specific trades to be carried out.
In response to questions regarding Trump's energy investments, White House spokesman Davis Issels told CNBC, "Neither President Trump nor any members of his family have the authority to guide, influence, or interfere with the allocation of portfolios and the timing of purchases and sales. All investment decisions are made by independent managers, and there is no conflict of interest."
Reports indicate that these disclosures once again show that Trump holds financial interests worth millions of dollars in an industry that is directly influenced by his government's military and diplomatic decisions.
The president and CEO of the government ethics oversight organization "Washington Citizens' Responsibility and Ethics Organization," Donald Sherman, said bluntly: "When a president can influence market trends through official decisions and gain personal benefits from it, the public can't help but ask where the boundaries of national policies lie, and where the starting point of private economic interests begins."
It is worth mentioning that while Trump benefited from his holdings in the oil industry, he publicly criticized ExxonMobil and Chevron, accusing them of making 'too much money' due to supply shortages.
On August 3rd, a few days after two companies announced significant increases in their second-quarter profits, Trump said to reporters, “I don’t like this. Chevron makes too much money, and ExxonMobil also makes too much money… They should give part of that money back to the public, and preferably reduce the retail prices and prices that consumers pay.”
Currently, American citizens are under pressure due to high oil prices. On September 9th, Brent crude oil futures rose by more than 2%, with the price breaking through $100 per barrel. Since a temporary low of $65.83 per barrel in early July this year, the price has risen by more than 50%.
As the U.S. midterm elections approach, the soaring energy costs have become a key political challenge faced by the Trump administration.
