Key facts
- Trump's disclosures indicate he bought between $1 million and $5 million of Nvidia stock before the May 2025 rescission, per DeKleptocracy.
- Trump also bought shares in Microsoft, Meta and Apple, according to the analysis.
- Trump's disclosures indicate at least three Nvidia purchases of $250,001 to $500,000 each after the December 2025 H200 announcement.
- The Council on Foreign Relations suggested selling H200s would "supercharge" China's future AI factories.
- Nvidia made a $25 million contribution to Trump's ballroom in October 2025.
Donald Trump bought Nvidia stock worth millions of dollars as he made decisions on America's China policy that would benefit the chipmaker, according to an analysis by the anti-corruption group DeKleptocracy reported on November 13, 2026.
In May 2025, Trump's administration rescinded a Biden-era rule designed to prevent the most advanced US AI chips from being exported to China. In the days before the rescission, Trump's public financial disclosures indicate he bought between $1 million and $5 million worth of Nvidia stock. He also bought shares in other tech companies, including Microsoft, Meta and Apple. Nvidia's shares rose in value just after Trump announced the rescission of the rule, and after he had bought the stock.
In December 2025, Trump said he would allow Nvidia to sell H200 chips to China, a decision greenlit by the Department of Commerce in January 2026. The Council on Foreign Relations suggested selling H200s would "supercharge" China's future AI factories and strengthen the US's rival. Trump's disclosures indicate he made at least three purchases of Nvidia stock in the days after announcing this, all between $250,001 and $500,000.
DeKleptocracy wrote in its analysis: "While the country debates how a possible Chinese spy may have manipulated White House policy for one AI company, it must grapple with how Trump's corruption may have motivated him to deliver the entire AI industry's technology to China."
The report also states that the US and global economy have been grappling with revelations that Jensen Huang, Nvidia's former chief executive, had an affair with an alleged Chinese spy, Alice Huang. Reports have suggested this relationship allowed Alice Huang's company, Megaspeed, to obtain billions worth of Nvidia's chips. Trump was twice briefed by US intelligence officials on their conclusions that Alice Huang was a Chinese asset and did not act on this assessment. Nvidia made a $25 million contribution to Trump's ballroom in October 2025.