President Trump's accounts purchased up to $12.8 million in stocks on April 8, 2025, including shares of Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft, according to a 927-page financial disclosure filed this week with the Office of Government Ethics and first reported by NBC News. The S&P 500 closed 9.5% higher on April 9, 2025—its eighth-best day ever—after Trump announced a pause on Liberation Day tariffs. The trades were disclosed more than 14 months late, with federal ethics law requiring senior officials to report securities transactions within 45 days; the late-filing fee remained capped at $200.
927-Page Filing Surfaces 14 Months After Required Deadline
The 327 purchases appeared in Trump's annual financial disclosure report, a spreadsheet-style document filed with the Office of Government Ethics this week and first reported by NBC News journalists Steve Kopack and Gabe Gutierrez. The trades were scattered throughout the filing, and none had been reported before now. Federal ethics law requires senior officials to report securities transactions within 45 days on periodic transaction reports known as 278-T forms. Trump filed no such reports for the April trades or for most of his 2025 transactions, meaning the April 8 buying spree stayed out of public view for more than 14 months. The penalty for missing the deadline was capped at $200. An OGE reviewer flagged the gap directly in the document, noting: "The filer paid late filing fees related to transactions not previously reported on 278-Ts."
April 8 Purchases Included Apple, Nvidia, Microsoft Ahead of Rally
The 327 individual purchases included shares of Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and Alphabet, each valued at as much as $250,000, alongside scores of other companies. Because federal disclosures report holdings in ranges rather than exact figures, the true total sits somewhere below the $12.8 million ceiling. The next day, April 9, 2025, Trump announced a pause on a swath of his Liberation Day tariffs. The S&P 500 closed 9.5% higher—one of the largest single-day gains in the index's history—with the technology names in the president's accounts helping to lead the rebound.
White House Cites Discretionary Accounts as Ethics Groups Demand Transparency
The White House has said all of the president's assets are held in fully discretionary accounts managed by independent third-party financial institutions, an arrangement under which Trump would not personally direct individual trades. The disclosure itself offers no evidence of who ordered the April 8 purchases, and no official body has accused the president of trading on advance knowledge of his own policy reversal. Craig Holman of Public Citizen, a government accountability group, stated: "It is critical that the public and the press have a full accounting of the financial holdings, investments and stock transactions of senior public officials." Holman and other ethics watchdogs argue that a $200 late fee is no deterrent against a 14-month delay.
Disclosure Also Reports $1.4 Billion in Crypto Earnings for 2025
Trump's disclosures for 2025 also reported at least $1.4 billion in crypto earnings, led by memecoin royalties and World Liberty Financial token sales. The administration has pushed to modernize federal finance, from a massive digital shift in government payments to the launch of Trump Accounts, a children's savings program that opened July 4 and now accepts donations of publicly traded stock. When the official who sets tariff policy also owns hundreds of stocks that swing on tariff headlines, watchdogs contend, disclosure timing stops being a paperwork technicality and becomes the public's only window into potential conflicts.
FAQ
What stocks did Trump's accounts purchase on April 8, 2025?
Trump's accounts purchased shares of Apple, Microsoft, Nvidia, Amazon, and Alphabet, each valued at as much as $250,000, among 327 individual purchases totaling up to $12.8 million.
Why did the S&P 500 rise 9.5% on April 9, 2025?
The S&P 500 closed 9.5% higher on April 9, 2025—its eighth-best day ever—after Trump announced a pause on Liberation Day tariffs, with technology stocks helping to lead the rebound.
How late was Trump's financial disclosure filing?
Federal ethics law requires senior officials to report securities transactions within 45 days, but Trump filed no such reports for the April 8, 2025 trades or for most of his 2025 transactions, disclosing them more than 14 months late in a 927-page document filed this week.
