President Donald Trump’s personal investment accounts have continued buying and selling shares in oil and gas companies while he has overseen the US war with Iran, according to financial disclosure filings available through the second quarter of 2026. The Office of Government Ethics (OGE) records show that, during the period when the conflict persisted, paused for a ceasefire and then resumed, his accounts carried out trades worth hundreds of thousands of dollars. The most recent data in the filings were compiled by OGE from submissions made under federal disclosure rules. Broad Portfolio and Large Trade VolumeMr Trump holds assets across all 11 sectors, and a CBS News review found that his accounts completed about 3,600 stock or securities trades in the first three months of the year. The trades were reported as totalling between $212 million and $695 million, based on the ranges disclosed in the filings. Democrats on the Joint Economic Committee estimated this week that the value of Mr Trump’s holdings in oil and gas companies rose from a range of $13 million to $46 million at the start of the year to $17 million to $61 million by mid-August. The lawmakers based their calculations on his 2025 holdings and said they did not factor in trading activity that occurred after that period, which is reported in later filings as transaction ranges rather than exact figures. Energy stocks climbed during a timeframe that included US operations in Venezuela in early January and the war with Iran, which began at the end of February. Global oil prices stayed elevated during the conflict, supporting profits for publicly listed energy companies. Specific Trades, Including Ceasefire DayOne large transaction highlighted in CBS News’ review involved ExxonMobil. On April 7, the day Mr Trump declared a ceasefire in the Iran war, his investment accounts sold between $500,000 and $1 million of ExxonMobil shares, according to a disclosure report filed in late June. That trade occurred the evening before markets reflected the ceasefire announcement. ExxonMobil’s share price closed at $163.91 on April 7, then fell to open at $153.52 on April 8, down 6.5%. During the first half of the year, Mr Trump also bought and sold shares worth hundreds of thousands of dollars in Chevron, ConocoPhillips and other energy companies, based on OGE disclosures. OGE rules require public officials to report stock purchases and sales above $1,000 within 45 days of the transaction, or within 30 days of learning about it. As a result, the OGE records do not always show trades as promptly as the underlying transactions occur. The filings reviewed also show that Mr Trump was late in submitting some 2026 disclosures. White House Position on IndependenceThe White House said Mr Trump is not involved in decisions about his trading. In a statement, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said that Mr Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is handled by independent third-party financial institutions. Ingle added that the holdings are kept in discretionary accounts and are managed through computer-based model portfolios designed to mirror recognised indexes, including a Schwab 1000 index model. He said no family member has the ability to direct, influence or provide input into how investments are chosen or when they are bought and sold. Mr Trump has not placed his assets in a blind trust. Holding individual securities, rather than index funds or other pooled vehicles, means his investments remain visible through his disclosures. Criticism Over Conflicts and Trade StrategyWhen CBS News reported on earlier trades in June, some fund managers suggested the activity could be linked to tax planning, including strategies such as tax-loss harvesting—selling positions at a loss to offset gains elsewhere. David Salem, a portfolio manager at Hedgeye Asset Management, said at the time that such activity could be automated and that direct indexing and similar approaches require specialised technology and tax expertise. Those comments were described as his view. Critics including Donald Sherman of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington (CREW) said the president should not financially benefit from higher energy prices tied to the conflict. Sherman argued that higher prices and related costs are borne by the public, while trades by Mr Trump’s brokers could increase his profits amid global instability. Presidents and other federal officials are legally permitted to trade individual stocks, although some lawmakers in both parties have proposed banning the practice. Join the discussion? 27 August 2026
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