President Donald Trump acquired up to $2 million in Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery investments just days following the announcement of a major pact between the two media titans, along with other purchases, per White House financial disclosures, reigniting ethicists’ concerns about potential conflicts of interest.
The disclosure, mandated by the U.S. Office of Government Ethics and initially submitted on Wednesday, revealed 191 financial transactions, including two sales totaling at least $1.25 million and corporate and municipal bonds valued as high as $51 million. It is not precisely clear how much Trump bought or sold due to the broad range of figures in the report, some listed between $1 million and $5 million.
The investments took place between November 14 and December 19.
A White House representative informed CNN that Trump’s portfolio of stocks and bonds is managed independently by third-party financial institutions.
“All assets are held in discretionary accounts and invested through computer-model portfolios that automatically mirror recognized indices such as the Schwab 1000,” the White House stated. “Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has the power to direct, influence, or exert control over how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold. All investment determinations are made by entirely independent managers.”
Possible Conflicts of Interest
Experts suggest that Trump’s financial stakes in both Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery may raise questions about conflicts of interest.
“The President’s holdings in these two companies now generate ethical scrutiny since the President has stated he will be directly involved in merger decisions,” Ann Skeet, Senior Director of Leadership Ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, told CNN. “This creates the potential for a clash of interests due to his role in the regulatory oversight of the deal. The President must make decisions putting the public interest exclusively first.”
Early in Trump’s term, the Trump Organization announced an ethics plan stating that Trump “will not be involved” in running his business empire. But the plan did not require him to divest or step away from any ventures.
Trump’s purchase of Netflix and other corporate bonds is another “narrow” potential conflict, besides worries over the President’s involvement in cryptocurrencies, said Richard Painter, former chief ethics counsel to President George W. Bush and a University of Minnesota law professor, in a phone interview with CNN.
“It is just one more investment that could potentially conflict with his official duties, but it is far from the most serious,” he added.
It is “unprecedented” for Trump not to avoid conflicts of interest as much as possible, Painter noted. “Every other president has voluntarily avoided conflicts of interest, even though the conflict of interest law does not apply to the President,” he remarked.
Details on Trump’s Investments
Trump’s recent investments included two purchases of Netflix bonds and two purchases of Discovery Communications bonds, individually valued between $250,001 and $500,000. The purchases occurred on December 12 and 16.
Discovery Communications is part of the Warner Bros. Discovery brand. On December 5, Netflix revealed intentions to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion plus debt. The acquisition encompasses Warner Bros. Discovery’s television and film studios, along with assets such as the HBO streaming service.
Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent firm of CNN, which is not part of the deal with Netflix. Warner Bros. Discovery has indicated plans to split into two publicly traded halves in 2026. After the separation takes effect, the Netflix portion intends to acquire a segment of Warner. The other half, Discovery Global, will be positioned for CNN and other cable channels.
On December 8, Paramount initiated a hostile takeover bid for Warner Bros. to stop the sale to Netflix. Despite pressure from Paramount, Warner Bros. Discovery signaled that Netflix was their favored buyer, and the board of directors rejected Paramount’s bid on January 7.
Paramount CEO David Ellison and his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, have close ties to Trump. Although Larry Ellison has not publicly endorsed or donated to Trump’s 2024 campaign, he hosted a fundraiser for Trump in 2020 and leads a group of investors set to acquire and oversee most of TikTok’s U.S. assets.
A day before Paramount’s hostile takeover statement, Trump announced he would “be involved” in regulatory decisions regarding the approval of the Warner Bros.-Netflix sale.
Trump’s disclosure filed with the ethics office also included debt purchases for the Boeing air carrier, retailers Macy’s and Victoria’s Secret, and automaker General Motors.
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