Donald Trump has long touted his talent for striking a bargain, and new disclosures suggest he may have timed one well: records show he bought more than $1 million worth of Dell stock just months before the company landed a $9.7 billion Pentagon contract.
The details emerged this week in a required financial filing showing that Trump’s investment portfolio carried out more than 3,600 trades during the first quarter of 2026. The activity included purchases and sales involving technology firms, banks, and other large corporations that do business with the federal government.
A standout transaction took place on Feb. 10, when Trump purchased between $1 million and $5 million in Dell shares. Additional, smaller buys followed in the weeks after, during a period in which he was also seen cultivating a warmer relationship with Dell founder and CEO Michael Dell.
Trump also publicly promoted the brand, urging supporters to purchase Dell computers at a rally in Rome, Ga. on Feb. 19, and repeating the push in a Feb. 27 speech in Corpus Christi, Texas.
Dell was later highlighted in this year’s State of the Union address, underscoring what appeared to be deepening connections between the company and the administration. That came after Dell and its founder backed Trump’s “Trump accounts” initiative with a $6.25 billion investment, a plan intended to provide $250 starter investment accounts for children that grow until they turn 18.
Then, on May 28, the Pentagon announced a $9.7 billion agreement with Dell for digital services—described by the Defense Department as its ‘largest to date.’
The sequence of events has prompted criticism and suspicion from some observers, including claims that the President may be shaping government actions to benefit his own finances—an allegation the White House has firmly rejected.
In a statement issued Tuesday, White House spokesperson Anna Kelly said Trump ‘only acts in the best interests of the American public’ and insisted that ‘there are no conflicts of interest’ because his assets ‘are in a trust managed by his children.’
Kelly also went on to decry ‘years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses from the fake news media.’
Over the past year, Trump’s net worth has climbed dramatically. Forbes estimated a $1.4 billion jump in that period, putting his total wealth at roughly $6.5 billion.
Part of that 2026 financial picture is tied to trading gains. Reuters reported that the 3,600 trades executed in the first three months of the year were valued between $220 million and $750 million.
Still, the Trump Organization—run by his eldest sons, Don Jr. and Eric—has said Trump is not the one directing the buys and sells. According to the organization, the transactions are carried out by outside brokerage firms.
Speaking to The New York Times the pair explained that the president is not personally ordering the trades, and instead they are conducted by outside brokerage firms.
“This structure was intentionally designed to maintain a clear separation between President Trump and the independent third-party investment managers overseeing the accounts and avoid even the appearance of any conflict of interest,” the Trump Organization said in its statement.
However, Eric Trump appeared to contradict the White House’s assertion that the family manages the funds, taking to X to claim the setup is entirely hands-off.
.@SenWarren All of our assets are invested in a blind trust by the largest financial institutions in broad market indexes. To suggest that individual stocks are being bought or sold, at the discretion of any member of the Trump family, would be a lie and blatantly false. Using a… https://t.co/pGYZQAFPct
— Eric Trump (@EricTrump) May 15, 2026
“All of our assets are invested in a blind trust by the largest financial institutions in broad market indexes,” Eric wrote on X. “To suggest that individual stocks are being bought or sold, at the discretion of any member of the Trump family, would be a lie and blatantly false.”