type: timeline_event
President Donald Trump purchased up to $2 million in Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery investments days after the announcement of a $72 billion megadeal between the two media companies, according to a financial disclosure released by the White House. The disclosure, required by the Office of Government Ethics and dated January 14, showed 191 financial transactions totaling between $1.25 million and $51 million in corporate and municipal bonds.
According to the disclosure form, Trump acquired two tranches of Netflix bonds—one purchase valued at between $250,001–$500,000 on December 12, and a second purchase in the same range on December 16, maturing in November 2029. He also purchased $250,001 to $500,000 in Discovery Communications bonds on December 12 and the same range on December 16, maturing in 2030. On December 5, Netflix had announced plans to acquire Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion plus debt.
Ethics experts raised immediate concerns. "The president's investments in these two companies now pose ethical concerns because the president has said he will be directly involved in decisions regarding the merger," said Ann Skeet, senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University. "This sets up the potential for a conflict of interest due to his involvement in regulatory oversight of the deal." The White House claimed all holdings are maintained in discretionary accounts with no presidential input, though Trump has kept control of his investments rather than selling them or placing them in a blind trust—unusual for a sitting president.