Donald Trump Bought Netflix And Discovery Corporate Bonds After Merger Deal Was Signed, According To Latest Financial Disclosure
Donald Trump purchased corporate bonds from Netflix and Warner Bros. Discovery in a series of transactions in mid-December, shortly after the two companies signed a landmark deal for the streaming giant to buy major assets.
According to the latest financial disclosure form released by the Office of Government Ethics, Trump purchased between $250,001 and $500,000 of Netflix bonds Dec. 12, and the same range on Dec. 16. He purchased $250,001 to $500,000 in Discovery Communications bonds on Dec. 12 and the same range on Dec. 16.
The purchases are among nearly 200 transactions reported in corporate and municipal bonds in November and December. Other purchaees include bonds from SiriusXM, General Motors, Boeing, Whirlpool and Macys.
A White House spokesperson did not immediately return a request for comment. A White House official told Bloomberg, which first reported on the latest report, that independent financial managers made the decision, not Trump or his family.
The Netflix-Warner Bros. Discovery transaction was announced on Dec. 5, with the streamer purchasing the studio, HBO and HBO Max, while the cable channels would be spun off into a separate entity. WBD has since rejected a rival bid from Paramount, which has launched a hostile takeover of the entire legacy media giant.
Trump has said that he will be involved in the regulatory review of the transaction, while praising Netflix’s Ted Sarandos. Last weekend, the president posted a One America News commentary criticizing the transaction as a “cultural takeover.” In an interview with The New York Times, Sarandos said that “I don’t know why he would have done that. No conversation we ever had was about any of the things that were in that article that he posted. I don’t want to overread it, either.”
