Trump bought US$1m in Netflix, Warner Bros bonds after merger announcement

US President Donald Trump bought the bonds days after saying he’d be 'involved' in deciding whether to approve the US$83 billion deal. Photo / Getty

United States President Donald Trump bought more than US$1 million ($1.7m) worth of corporate bonds from Netflix and Warner Bros Discovery only weeks after the media giants announced a US$83 billion merger deal that could reshape Hollywood.

According to a financial disclosure form released by the White House, Trump purchased bonds on December 12 and 16 (local time) from Netflix and Discovery, which merged with WarnerMedia to form Warner Bros Discovery in 2022.

Trump spent between US$1-2m on the bonds, a fraction of the roughly US$100m in purchases, mostly in municipal bonds, that the President disclosed. The disclosure covers transactions made from November 14-December 19.

A White House official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to share details, said Trump’s investment decisions are not made by the President.

“President Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions,” the official said.

“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.”

Trump has involved himself in Netflix’s blockbuster deal to buy Warner Bros Discovery and has criticised Netflix’s market power.

“They have a very big market share,” Trump told reporters at the Kennedy Centre on December 7, two days after the deal was announced.

“When they have Warner Bros, that share goes up a lot. So, I don’t know. That’s going to be for some economists to tell and also – and I’ll be involved in that decision too. But they have a very big market share.”

The next day, Paramount Skydance, an unsuccessful bidder in the blitz to buy Warner Bros Discovery, launched a hostile bid to buy the company. Paramount Skydance is run by David Ellison, the son of Trump ally Larry Ellison, the co-founder of Oracle.

A spokeswoman for Netflix declined to comment. Paramount Skydance declined to comment. Spokespeople for Warner Bros Discovery and the Trump Organisation did not respond to requests for comment.

On January 11, Trump posted on Truth Social an opinion column published by One America News titled “Stop the Netflix Cultural Takeover.”

“If Netflix absorbs these assets, it will not just be the biggest streaming service,” the author wrote. “It will become the most dominant cultural gatekeeper the US – and much of the world – has ever seen.”

In recent weeks, Trump-aligned social media influencers have also urged the President to intervene to block the Netflix acquisition.

Any merger or purchases involving the companies would be subject to regulatory approval by the federal Government.

Trump has said he won’t give any special treatment to Ellison over Netflix co-chief executive Ted Sarandos, both of whom have met with the President.

“None of them are particularly great friends of mine,” he told reporters on December 9. “I want to do what’s right.”

The first bonds were purchased three days later.

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