"Trump Made $15.5 Million in Paper Gains on Oil and Gas Stocks Amid Iran War," Democrats Say

[Financial News]  

Donald Trump is said to have gained as much as $15.5 million in paper profits from oil and gas stocks, boosted by the surge in energy prices caused by the war in Iran.
According to CNBC on the 24th local time, Democratic Party of Korea lawmakers on the Joint Economic Committee (JEC) made that claim in a report. Trump’s senior public financial disclosure showed that he held between $12.5 million and $45.6 million in oil and gas company stocks.
Democratic lawmakers said the value of those holdings had risen about 39% this year through the 17th, putting their current worth at between $17.2 million and $61.1 million.
His largest reported energy holdings are in ExxonMobil and Chevron, the two biggest U.S. oil majors. His stakes in Valero Energy and Marathon Petroleum have more than doubled since the start of the year.
The report also concluded that Trump bought up to $3.6 million more in oil and gas stocks in the first quarter of this year.
After Trump started the war in Iran on Feb. 28, international oil prices surged about 40%, and oil and gas companies saw their stock prices jump sharply on the back of soaring profits.
According to an earlier CNBC report, Trump carried out more than 21,000 transactions through eight investment accounts last year, and his assets are worth at least $858 million.
With the November midterm elections approaching, Trump’s approval ratings are falling sharply amid inflation in everyday goods caused by the war in Iran. Democrats are determined to win the election, retake control of the House, and launch a congressional investigation into Trump’s alleged corruption.
In the report, Democrats said the paper gains on Trump’s oil and gas stocks were driven by the rise in oil prices caused by the war he started in Iran.
According to the report, major U.S. oil and gas companies posted record net profits of about $125.2 billion in the first half of the year. By contrast, Americans were estimated to have spent an additional $71.5 billion on gasoline after the war began.

[email protected] Song Kyung-jae Reporter