By US President Donald Trump invested between $1 million and $5 million in debt issued by Elon Musk’s SpaceX on August 18, just two days before signing a major national space transportation policy aimed at expanding commercial launch activity, CNBC reported Thursday.
The investment has drawn attention because SpaceX is a major Pentagon contractor and NASA launch provider and could benefit from measures designed to accelerate commercial space activity.
The notes issued by SpaceX carry a 5.35% interest rate and mature in July 2031.
Trump’s financial disclosure listed the purchase as part of a highly active month of securities trading.
SpaceX investment came just before new policy
Two days after the SpaceX debt purchase, on August 20, Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum establishing a new National Space Transportation Policy.
The policy aims to restore US leadership in space transportation and enable more than 1,000 launches and reentries on American soil annually by 2030.
The timing of Trump’s investment has renewed attention around the intersection between his financial holdings and policies affecting industries and companies in which he invests.
This was not Trump’s first investment in Elon Musk’s company.
He had previously invested in SpaceX on a much smaller scale. According to CNBC, he bought between $15,001 and $50,000 in shares in June, the month it went public, and again in July. He also sold between $1,001 and $15,000 worth of SpaceX shares in July.
Trump’s financial disclosures have drawn scrutiny previously. The White House has repeatedly denied wrongdoing, with Trump saying his son Eric Trump manages his finances along with large financial institutions.
Meta investment was Trump’s largest August trade
The SpaceX debt purchase was part of a particularly active month of trading for Trump.
His August disclosure listed 517 securities transactions, with a combined reported value ranging from roughly $74.3 million to $273.3 million, according to the CNBC analysis. Purchases totaled at least $44.2 million, while sales totaled at least $30.1 million.
Trading activity slowed from more than 1,000 transactions reported in each of June and July.
The largest single trade in August was a purchase of Meta Platforms stock on August 21 valued between $5 million and $25 million.
That same day, accounts also bought positions valued between $1 million and $5 million each in AT&T, ConocoPhillips, Abbott Laboratories, Netflix and Chevron. The accounts also reduced holdings in several other companies.
Trump’s accounts continued purchasing municipal debt in August as well. In August, he bought dozens of municipal securities issued by state and local governments, school districts, hospitals, housing authorities, and other public entities.
Overall, these holdings span hundreds of cities, hospitals, schools, utilities and similar institutions nationwide, many of which are subject to policies set by his administration.
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