President Invests Million in Companies He Will Judge on Merger

Financial Disclosure Reveals Conflicting Interests

President Donald Trump purchased up to $2 million in Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery investments days after the announcement of a megadeal between the two media giants, according to a financial disclosure from the White House, renewing questions from ethics experts around potential conflicts of interest. According to a financial disclosure form released Friday by the White House, Trump bought between $250,001 and $500,000 of Netflix debt securities on two separate dates, Dec. 12 and Dec. 16.

On Dec. 5, Netflix announced it planned to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery for $72 billion, plus debt. Under those terms, the streaming giant would acquire WB's studios, HBO and HBO Max, and its games group — but not any of WBD's TV networks, which would be spun off into a new entity, Discovery Global. The timing of Trump's bond purchases, made just one week after the merger announcement, has raised eyebrows among ethics watchdogs.

According to the White House, Trump's financial portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions — and neither Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested. While bonds are not shares and do not convey ownership or voting power, they do make the holder a creditor and someone who profits when a company remains solvent and stable.

Presidential Oversight Creates Ethical Dilemma

Trump, speaking last month with reporters on the red carpet of the Kennedy Center Honors in Washington, D.C., said Netflix's deal to acquire Warner Bros. studios and streaming business will require a review, and said, "I'll be involved in that decision." Ann Skeet, the senior director of leadership ethics at the Markkula Center for Applied Ethics at Santa Clara University, told CNN: "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. This sets up the potential for a conflict of interest due to his involvement in regulatory oversight of the deal."

In December, Trump met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos at the White House to discuss the Warner Bros. Discovery deal. Trump met with Netflix co-CEO Ted Sarandos in the days leading up to the deal, and the two hit it off, with Trump calling him "a fantastic man." However, the relationship appears complicated, as Trump also reposted an article that was highly critical of the Netflix-WBD deal titled "Stop the Netflix Cultural Takeover."

Also last month, Trump said that as part of "any deal" for WBD, CNN should be sold as part of an overall sale or sold separately, stating "I think CNN should be sold because I think the people that are running CNN right now" are "either corrupt or incompetent." Warner Bros. Discovery is the parent company of CNN, though the news network is not part of the Netflix acquisition.

Competing Bids Complicate the Picture

Meanwhile, Netflix and WBD are facing pressure from David Ellison's Paramount Skydance, which is waging a hostile takeover bid in trying to convince WBD shareholders that its $30/share offer is superior to Netflix's terms. Paramount CEO David Ellison and his father, Oracle co-founder Larry Ellison, have been closely tied to Trump. While Larry Ellison did not publicly endorse or donate to Trump's 2024 campaign, he hosted a fundraiser for Trump in 2020 and is leading a group of investors who will buy and oversee the bulk of TikTok's US assets.

Trump, asked at a White House briefing on Dec. 8 if he was in favor of Paramount's rival bid for Warner Bros. Discovery, said, "I don't know enough about it," saying he had to look at how each proposed deal would impact market share for Netflix and Paramount Skydance. Shareholders are expected to vote on the Netflix deal in late spring or early summer.

Broader Investment Pattern Emerges

The disclosure, which is required by the Office of Government Ethics and was initially submitted on Wednesday, showed 191 financial transactions, including two sales worth at least $1.25 million and up to $51 million worth of corporate and municipal bonds. The financial disclosures for Trump show that most of his acquisitions were municipal bonds from cities, local school districts, utilities and hospitals. He also bought bonds from other corporations including SiriusXM, Boeing, GM, Macy's, Occidental Petroleum and Whirlpool.

The Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery situation represents a test case for how Trump will navigate potential conflicts between his financial interests and regulatory responsibilities. As the administration prepares to review one of the largest media mergers in recent history, the president's bond holdings add another layer of complexity to an already contentious deal that could reshape Hollywoo