President Donald Trump has picked up a stake in SpaceX. He bought up to $50,000 in shares on June 23. That’s according to a financial disclosure first reported by Reuters.
The purchase came just two weeks after Elon Musk’s rocket company went public in a blockbuster debut.
Details
Trump’s financial filing doesn’t reveal the exact price he paid. But the numbers tell an interesting story anyway.
SpaceX shares had already slipped by June 23. They’d fallen from highs above $200 down to the mid-$150 range. And by Monday’s close, shares had dropped all the way to $135.
That’s the same price SpaceX set for its IPO. In other words, the stock gave back every bit of its post-launch gains.
If Trump bought near the mid-$150s, his stake could now be underwater. That means it might be worth less than what he paid.
Rocky Patch
Trump and Musk go way back. Their relationship hasn’t always been smooth, though. Last summer, the two had a public falling out.
Musk accused Trump of sitting on Department of Justice files related to Jeffrey Epstein.
Musk claimed the president was withholding them because his name shows up in the documents often.
Now the two have since patched things up. And now Trump owns a piece of Musk’s company.
SpaceX
A recent Wall Street Journal analysis found the company has been racking up wins across federal agencies.
The Trump administration’s lighter touch on regulation hasn’t hurt either. SpaceX has benefited from that, according to the Journal’s reporting.
So when the president buys stock in a company that depends heavily on government business, people take notice.
Also read: SpaceX Just Made History
White House Responds
White House spokesman Davis Ingle addressed the purchase when Reuters asked about it. He said the president doesn’t personally pick his stocks.
Third-party financial firms handle that job instead. According to Ingle, those firms build portfolios that mirror well-known indexes. He pointed to the Schwab 1000 as one example.
That explanation adds another layer to this story, though. SpaceX had pushed major stock indexes to change their rules before the IPO. The goal was faster inclusion in those indexes. TechCrunch covered this move back in May.
Because of that lobbying push, a lot of everyday investors may already own SpaceX stock. Many probably don’t even realize it. If their retirement accounts track popular indexes, SpaceX shares could be sitting quietly inside them.
