NYT: Bonds Make Up About 60% of Trump's Assets
Stock Investments Account for Less Than 10%
The prevailing analysis is that former U.S. President Donald Trump, who had been imposing indiscriminate tariff hikes on countries around the world, abruptly shifted his stance on the 9th (local time) to grant a 90-day tariff deferral due to the sharp rise in government bond yields. However, criticism has emerged that Trump may have acted out of concern for the decline in the value of his own assets, as it has become known that his wealth is heavily concentrated in bonds.
On the 18th, The New York Times (NYT) reported that, based on an analysis of Trump's assets as of last year, his bond investments were estimated to range from $125 million (about 178 billion won) to $443 million (about 631 billion won). Considering that his total financial assets are valued at approximately $206 million (about 293.4 billion won) to $620 million (about 883.1 billion won), even at the lowest estimate, bonds account for about 60% of his portfolio.
In contrast, the proportion of his stock investments is less than 10%. Regarding this, NYT analyzed that even when using the most conservative estimates?comparing the minimum value of his bonds to the maximum value of his stocks?excluding Trump Media, Trump holds more than twice as much in bonds as in stocks.
It is estimated that Trump holds between $18 million (about 25.6 billion won) and $75 million (about 106.8 billion won) in U.S. corporate bonds, such as those from Microsoft (MS) and 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 account for about 80% of his total bond holdings.
NYT stated, "It is unclear whether Trump's personal assets influenced his decision to defer tariffs," but also pointed out, "He remained unmoved by pressure from various sectors and a stock market crash, but acted when the bond market went into panic."
U.S. Treasury yields serve as a benchmark for other bonds in the U.S., so when Treasury yields fluctuate, the yields of other bonds are also likely to rise or fall similarly. After Trump announced the tariff deferral and bond prices, which had previously fallen, began to rise again, he reportedly remarked, "The bond market is beautiful right now."
NYT prefaced its analysis by stating, "There is no evidence that Trump decided to defer tariffs for personal financial reasons, and the composition of his portfolio may be coincidental." However, it also diagnosed, "Recent events highlight the intertwining of Trump's private interests and political gains, and the ethical issues that arise from not placing his assets in a blind trust, which would prevent him from controlling them. The outlet added that there is a possibility Trump's asset portfolio has changed somewhat since it was made public last year.
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