President Trump’s brokerage accounts placed more than 3,600 trades in the first three months of the year. Credit. Haiyun Jiang/The New York Times Ben Protess covers the Trump Organization. He reported from New York.
The trades came in bursts, sometimes dozens or even hundreds in a day, all for the benefit of the Trump family.
In the first three months of the year, President Trump’s brokerage accounts placed more than 3,600 trades, as they bought and sold a wide variety of stocks and bonds, according to a disclosure form released last month. On the surface, it appeared to be an unusual trading spree.
In prior months, Mr. Trump typically reported a couple hundred trades or fewer. One disclosure last year showed only 25, The New York Times found.
Some of the trades early this year also appeared to be well timed, notably a purchase of Dell shares that came months before the company secured a lucrative government contract. Mr.
Trump’s critics contend that he is profiting from his presidency, and worry that he could be trading on inside information, while his supporters argue that any well-timed trades are coincidental. In a recent statement, Mr.
Trump’s company, the Trump Organization, said that he and his family had no ability to direct the trading, all of which is controlled by outside brokerage firms.
To understand the nature of the trading, The Times analyzed the president’s recent disclosure form, as well as other documents from his financial institutions, some of which were previously unreported. The Times also spoke to independent market experts and people with knowledge of Mr.
Trump’s finances. We are having trouble retrieving the article content. Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings. Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.
Thank you for your patience while we verify access. Already a subscriber. Log in. Want all of The Times. Subscribe.