As Netflix attempted to purchase Warner Bros. last month, a most notable American bought a large amount of the companies’ corporate debt: President Donald Trump.
Trump purchased between $500,000 and $1 million worth of Netflix bonds on Dec. 12 and Dec. 16, and between $500,000 and $1 million in Discovery Communications — a subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery — on the same days, according to an Office of Government Ethics disclosure Trump filed on Jan. 14.
Netflix announced its deal to purchase Warner Bros on Dec. 5, in a deal that would split the film and streaming division away from the broader Warner Bros. Discovery.
Trump himself has been outspoken about the deal in recent weeks as Netflix rival Paramount Skydance is attempting to purchase Warner Bros. Discovery in full.
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“Stop the Netflix Cultural Takeover,” Trump wrote on Truth Social on Jan. 11, linking to a One America News commentary that declared the pending Netflix–Warner Bros. Discovery merger an “attempt to consolidate unprecedented cultural power inside one of America’s most ideologically aggressive corporations.”
Trump’s Netflix and Discovery Communications debt purchases are part of tens of millions of dollars worth of debt the president acquired last year.
Taken together, Trump’s purchases, which he made during late November and throughout December, are worth between $53 million and $165.6 million, according to a NOTUS analysis of an Office of Government Ethics disclosure Trump filed on Jan. 14. Government officials, including Trump, are only required to disclose the values of their personal investment purchases and sales in broad ranges.
Boeing, Victoria’s Secret, Macy’s, SiriusXM, Carnival Cruise Line and CoreWeave, an AI and cloud computing company, are among other corporate debt purchases Trump recently made.
Trump’s dozens of municipal and other government bond purchases include $500,000 to $1 million worth of debt in Minneapolis school bonds, made on Dec. 11, according to Trump’s disclosure.
Minneapolis is in the midst of an immigration enforcement surge by ICE and other federal agents, leading to widespread protests, particularly following the killing of motorist Renee Good by an ICE agent.
Trump’s November and December debt purchases also add to his already massive cache of corporate and government bonds from earlier in 2025, which include previous purchases of Netflix and Discovery Communications debt.
Decisions by the Trump administration, particularly those that involve funding, can affect the finances of local and state governments, including their ability to make good on debts to bondholders.
A White House official told NOTUS Friday night that “President Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions” and that “holdings are maintained in discretionary accounts and invested through computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000.”
The official added: “Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has any ability to direct, influence, or provide input regarding how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold ... President Trump has no role in managing his investments.”
In addition to corporate debt, Trump is also heavily invested in stocks and real estate, and he invests in more exotic financial vehicles, such as cryptocurrency interests.
Trump is worth $6.7 billion, according to the latest Forbes estimate — and his wealth has increased substantially since he won a second presidential term in November 2024.
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