As Trump's directives for war against Iran repeatedly triggered global market turmoil, his personal energy portfolio appreciated significantly. According to CNBC's analysis of Trump's annual financial disclosures, quarterly corporate reports, and FactSet market data, from February 27th, just before the outbreak of war, to August 31st, Trump's nine largest oil and gas holdings appreciated by approximately $1.5 million to $4.4 million. These nine holdings were identified by aggregating the stocks of these oil and gas companies held in his various investment accounts as of the end of 2025 and ranking them by disclosed value: Chevron, ConocoPhillips, ExxonMobil, Kinder Morgan, Marathon Oil, Occidental Petroleum, Phillips 66, Valero Energy, and Williams Industries.
The disclosed data shows that his accounts repeatedly sold before ceasefire announcements and bought on the first day of the war. As of June 29th (the latest disclosed trading date), Trump's accounts reported buy transactions involving the aforementioned nine companies and at least 23 sell transactions. On March 2, the first trading day after the initial US-Israeli attacks on Iran, Trump's accounts disclosed purchases of shares in eight major oil and gas companies. The timing of his sales was equally noteworthy: on April 7, one of Trump's investment accounts disclosed the sale of $500,000 to $1 million worth of Exxon stock. Just over two and a half hours after the market closed, Trump announced a two-week ceasefire with Iran, and the stock opened more than 6% lower the following morning. Donald Sherman, president of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington, stated, "The perception of avoiding thousands of dollars in losses on the eve of an announcement that could impact the market is indefensible under any circumstances."
Although Trump claimed that his investment accounts were managed by external managers, ethics experts say that delegating day-to-day transactions to others does not eliminate potential conflicts of interest. Scott Gretak, deputy executive director of Transparency International's US branch, said, "Discretionary accounts are merely a smokescreen, not blind trust. While others may be executing the transactions, Trump is still aware that he has invested heavily in the energy sector and can see that his assets are benefiting as his administration's actions drive up these energy stocks."
