Trump buys $1m in Netflix and Warner Bros bonds days after saying he’ll ‘be involved’ in merger | Donald Trump
Donald Trump purchased at least $1 million worth of securities from Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery (WBD), just days after saying he would be “involved” in a proposed merger between the two companies, according to his financial disclosure form.
White House releases financial statement report It showed that Trump made two purchases from Netflix and two from WBD on Friday, each totaling at least $502,000.
Trump purchased the bonds on Dec. 12 and Dec. 16, a little more than a week after Netflix agreed to buy WDB in an $82.7 billion deal.
The purchase is subject to regulatory approvals and will certainly raise suspicion given that Trump has said he would be involved in the process.
“They have a huge market share,” Trump told reporters. at the Kennedy Center On December 7, two days after the deal was announced and five days before Netflix and WBD began buying the bonds.
“When they own Warner Bros., this share increases a lot. So I don’t know. Some economists will explain this and I will be involved in this decision. But they have a very large market share.”
The next day, Paramount launched a $108.4 billion hostile takeover bid of Skydance, financially backed by its CEO, David Ellison, and his father, billionaire tech mogul Larry Ellison. Both men are friendly with the Trump administration.
The Netflix-WBD deal faced backlash from US politicians, with US senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts calling it an “anti-monopoly nightmare” in a statement shortly after the announcement.
The deal, which would bring shows like Game of Thrones to Netflix’s streaming library, was also criticized by the Writers Guild of America, which said it would “eliminate jobs, lower wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers, and reduce the volume and variety of content for all audiences.”
Trump purchased nearly $100 million in municipal and corporate bonds from mid-November to late December, according to Friday’s financial disclosure. He had previously purchased more than $100 million in corporate, state and municipal bonds, including bonds from Citigroup, Morgan Stanley and Wells Fargo, in the first six months of his second term.
The White House did not immediately respond to the Guardian’s questions. However, an unnamed administration official said said The Washington Post noted that Trump’s “stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions.”
The official reportedly added: “Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has the ability to direct, influence or provide input into how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought and sold.”
