A Guardian column by Arwa Mahdawi argues that President Donald Trump's declining approval rating has not slowed the growth of his personal wealth. The piece cites a Forbes estimate from March placing his net worth at about $6.5 billion and says the figure has continued to rise rapidly. It says Trump earned $2.2 billion in 2025 through business interests that included cryptocurrency sales, Trump Bibles and early access to his often market-moving Truth Social posts.
The column references a Sunday Truth Social post in which Trump said he had made hundreds of billions of dollars on stocks and other holdings for the United States, not himself. The post included an AI-generated image of him trading Intel stock. The article notes that the United States government took a 9.9% stake in Intel last year. That stake was worth $8.9 billion at the time and was worth nearly five times as much by Friday, according to the column.
The White House has framed Intel's share-price increase as a benefit for American taxpayers. In May, the administration released a statement describing the stock's surge as a windfall for taxpayers. The column contrasts that claim with rising consumer prices, noting that the author did not receive a windfall while costs for electricity and groceries increased.
The column also cites Trump's latest government disclosure, which it says showed more than 1,000 equity trades in June. It references an August report by Democrats on Congress's joint economic committee arguing that Trump's holdings in oil and gas stocks rose by nearly $16 million because of the war with Iran. The report said experts on government ethics had flagged how unusual it is for presidents to hold and trade individual company stocks, particularly after the war with Iran and favors to the oil industry raised the value of major oil stocks.
The piece places the issue in a broader context of politician stock-trading conflicts. It cites a 2022 New York Times investigation finding that, from 2019 to 2021, 97 lawmakers or their family members traded financial assets in industries that could be affected by their legislative committee work. In one example, the wife of retired Democratic congressman Alan Lowenthal sold Boeing shares a day before a House committee on which he served released a critical report about the company. Lowenthal told the Times he was not involved in the trade.
The column says a majority of Americans support legislation to prevent lawmakers and their family members from trading individual stocks. It adds that a bill on the issue is moving through Congress but does not apply to the president or vice-president.
The column closes by contrasting the rise in Trump's stock portfolio with his falling political standing. It cites an FT poll published this week showing his approval rating at a record low, with 33% of registered voters approving of his performance. The same poll found that 72% of Republicans still approved of the president, down from 82% in May.
