Protecting Assets with Tariff Delay?… "60% of Trump's Financial Assets are Bonds"

NYT Suspects Trump of 10% Stocks… Conflict of Interest with Non-Blind Trust Assets

Close Associates Suspected of Insider Trading in Stocks

U.S. President Donald Trump, who had been pushing indiscriminate tariff policies against the international community, suddenly changed direction to a 90-day delay on the 9th (local time), with U.S. local media reports suggesting that he acted because his asset value was threatened.

According to the New York Times (NYT) on the 18th (local time), an analysis of President Trump's asset details as of last year showed that bond investments ranged from $125 million (about 178 billion won) to $443 million (about 631 billion won). Considering that financial assets are worth between $206 million (about 293.4 billion won) and $620 million (about 883.1 billion won), even at the minimum amount, the bond ratio is about 60%.

On the other hand, the stock investment ratio was less than 10%. The NYT reported that even using a conservative estimate comparing the minimum value of bonds and the maximum value of stocks, Trump holds twice as many bonds as stocks, excluding Trump Media.

President Trump is estimated to hold between $18 million (about 25.6 billion won) and $75 million (about 106.8 billion won) in corporate bonds like Microsoft or Apple, and between $9 million (about 12.8 billion won) and $42 million (about 59.8 billion won) in U.S. Treasury bonds. Municipal bonds accounted for about 80% of the total bond holdings.

The NYT stated, "It is unknown whether President Trump's personal assets influenced the tariff delay decision," but noted, "He remained unmoved by pressure from various sectors and the stock market crash, but acted when the bond market panicked."

In fact, after the tariff delay announcement, President Trump indicated that the main reason was the Treasury bond yield by saying, "The bond market is very tricky" or "I am watching (the bond market)." After the tariff delay announcement, the U.S. Treasury market showed some stability in the short term. U.S. Treasury yields act like a benchmark interest rate for other bonds in the U.S.

When Treasury yields fluctuate, the yields of other bonds are also likely to fluctuate together. After his announcement, President Trump said, "Now the bond market is beautiful," as the bond market sell-off stopped and bond prices rose again.

However, the NYT explained, "There is no evidence that President Trump decided on the tariff delay due to his finances, and the portfolio composition may be a coincidence." Nonetheless, the NYT pointed out, "In the events that occurred this time, the ethical issue of not delegating his assets to a blind trust, where his personal interests and political interests are intertwined, is highlighted."

The NYT also reported that there may have been some changes in President Trump's asset portfolio since it was disclosed last year.

Reporter Park Soo-rim, Hankyung.com paksr365@hankyung.com