Trump Buys Millions in Corporate Bonds as Ethics Concerns Rise

Donald Trump has purchased at least US$82 million in corporate and municipal bonds between late August and early October 2025, according to recent disclosures filed with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. The total value of transactions during that period could exceed US$337 million, as the filings provide ranges rather than exact amounts.

The bonds include issuances from companies such as Broadcom Inc., Qualcomm Incorporated, Meta Platforms, Inc., Home Depot, Inc., CVS Health Corporation and major banks like JPMorgan Chase & Co., The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. and Morgan Stanley. Notably, the purchases include bonds from Intel Corporation shortly aftr the U.S. government, under Trump’s direction, acquired a stake in the company.

From a market and corporate governance perspective, the timing of these bond purchases raises important questions. Many of the companies whose debt was purchased operate in sectors that stand to benefit directly from Trump-administered policy shifts — including tech, financial deregulation and government-backed corporate deals. Although the White House states the transactions were managed by an independent third party, the sheer volume and overlap with policy-relevant sectors have triggered renewed scrutiny over conflict-of-interest risks.

This story underscores growing transparency and governance risks for corporate bonds. Although bond markets are often less scrutinised than equities, a sitting president buying large volumes of corporate debt with apparent policy linkages is highly unusual — and could prompt a reevaluation of how boards and auditors review debt issuance and political exposure.
                                                                                                                                   SK