If there’s one person keeping this new investment in the headlines these days, it’s former President Donald Trump. He has sunk at least $1 million in Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery (WBD) bonds. The other transactions on the 12th and 16 were withdrawals. This announcement comes on the heels of Netflix’s own news of its plan to acquire WBD in a $82.7 billion mega-merger, announced just over a week ago.
Trump’s recent bond purchases were reported first by Fortune based on a financial disclosure form, and represent the latest move in his investment portfolio. During the first half-year of his second term, he added more than $100 million into a varied collection of corporate, state and local muni bonds. He personally bought huge positions in all the country’s largest banks — Citigroup, Morgan Stanley, Wells Fargo. Between mid-November and late December, he poured about $100 million into munis and corporates.
Yet the former president isn’t done. He says he wants to stay as an active participant—stakeholder?—in the Netflix/WBD merger. In a December 7 press conference held at the Kennedy Center, President Trump made some not-so-little waves with his remarks about the two companies’ market share. In his words, “They control a HUGE market share.” His comments showed that he understood what a harmful, anti-competitive merger like this would mean for the entertainment landscape.
The merger itself is under fire from lawmakers, environmentalists and state attorneys general alike. U.S. Senator Elizabeth Warren of Massachusetts renounced the deal, calling it “an anti-monopoly nightmare.” The Writers Guild of America has widely reported extensive concerns about the merger. They oppose it, arguing that it would lead to fewer jobs, decreasing wages and a lack of diverse content for consumers. They stated that it “would eliminate jobs, push down wages, worsen conditions for all entertainment workers, raise prices for consumers, and reduce the volume and diversity of content for all viewers.”
Despite Trump’s notable bond purchases and enthusiasm regarding the merger, it is essential to highlight that his investments are independently managed by third-party financial institutions. As one unnamed administration official explained, President Trump and his family can’t just tell portfolio managers where to invest. First, they have no control over timing of investments purchased or sold.
The entertainment industry is bracing for a seismic shakeup with the completion of the merger of Netflix and WBD. Simultaneously, Trump’s financial maneuverings have the potential to intensify the highly charged atmosphere already surrounding consolidation in the media space.