Trump's Oil Stocks Swell to $81 Million Amid Iran Conflict

The value of President Trump's personal oil and gas portfolio has expanded substantially since the war with Iran began in late February 2026. The conflict has driven fuel costs to their highest levels in years, creating a direct link between geopolitical events and the financial performance of energy stocks.

A new report from Democrats on the Congressional Joint Economic Committee places the current value of the president's energy holdings between $22.5 million and $81.6 million. At the end of 2025, those same assets were valued between $12.6 million and $46 million. The report indicates that the stocks in this category have increased in value by an average of 43% since the end of last year.

The data, derived from LSEG Data Analytics and the president's financial filings with the Office of Government Ethics, shows that Trump purchased between $4.7 million and $17.5 million in oil and gas stocks between March and the end of August. During that same period, his accounts sold between $2 million and $5.4 million in these shares. Filers are required to report transaction ranges rather than specific dollar amounts, which contributes to the wide valuation brackets in the report.

Chevron and ExxonMobil constitute the largest portions of the president's energy portfolio. The report identifies up to $23.1 million in Chevron stock and up to $18.4 million in ExxonMobil shares in his holdings. Since February 20, when the war began, Chevron stock prices rose by nearly 25% and ExxonMobil shares gained nearly 22%.

While the president's wealth grows, the average American family has paid more at the pump. In early February, before the conflict started, the national average price for a gallon of regular gas was $2.87. Eight months later, that price stands at $4.29. Diesel prices have seen a sharper increase, jumping from $3.68 per gallon in February to $6.28 per gallon today. The global benchmark for crude oil, Brent, now hovers above $115 a barrel, compared to less than $75 the day before the war began.

Senate Democratic leader Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee, criticized the timing of these gains. She stated that the war has forced Americans to pay more while Big Oil rakes in profits and the president's stock wealth continues to balloon. Hassan noted that as the country's highest-ranking public employee, Trump's continued ownership and trading of stocks in companies that benefit from his decisions raise major concerns about conflicts of interest.

The White House maintains that the president does not make trading decisions himself. Spokesman Davis Ingle said the portfolio is independently managed by third-party financial institutions using computer-based model portfolios that automatically replicate recognized indexes. Ingle asserted that neither Trump nor any member of his family has the ability to direct or influence how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold.

Energy stocks have outpaced the broader market this year. Share prices for energy companies listed on the S&P 500 jumped more than 50% since the start of the year, significantly outpacing the index's overall gain of roughly 11%. The report notes that the president's stock purchases or total value may be even higher, as he has not yet reported transactions for September or October.

The financial disclosures reveal specific trading activity tied to major news events. On April 7, the day the president declared a ceasefire in the war, his investment accounts sold between $500,000 and $1 million of ExxonMobil stock. The company's share price closed at $163.91 on that day before opening down over 6% at $153.52 the following morning. This transaction appears in a financial disclosure report Trump filed in late June.

The president has publicly addressed the rising costs, claiming U.S. oil and gas companies are making hundreds of billions of dollars due to the Middle East conflict. He told a crowd in Georgia on Saturday night that oil prices are temporarily high and will fall dramatically once the war ends. However, he has not ruled out restarting strikes on Iran after the upcoming midterms, and U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz recently told the Financial Times the war could last another year.