- Donald Trump bought Nvidia shares worth $1M-$5M before rolling back AI chip export rules
- The rollback removed export limits that could have hurt Nvidia's sales to China
- Trump made additional Nvidia purchases after approving shipments of H200 chips to China
Financial disclosures reportedly show that Donald Trump bought Nvidia shares worth between $1 million and $5 million shortly before his administration rolled back a Biden-era rule on advanced AI chip exports. The finding comes from an analysis by DeKleptocracy, an anti-corruption group.
The purchases were made in the days leading up to May 2025, when the Trump administration withdrew the AI Diffusion Framework. Unveiled by the Biden White House in January 2025 and set to kick in four months later, the rule grouped countries into tiers, each with its own limits on buying high-end US-made AI processors. China was among the countries facing the strictest limits.
According to the analysis, scrapping the framework removed restrictions that could have hurt Nvidia's ability to sell its processors in China. The country made up roughly a quarter of the chipmaker's revenue over 2010-22. Nvidia's stock rose soon after the reversal was announced.
The disclosures confirm when the trades happened and their reported value. They don't show that Trump's personal holdings shaped his administration's policy.
The analysis also points to a second set of trades. In December 2025, Trump cleared Nvidia to ship its H200 processors to Chinese buyers, a decision the Commerce Department approved in January 2026. Within days of that announcement, Trump made at least three Nvidia purchases, each in the $250,001-$500,000 band, making them some of his larger bets on the company. The disclosures show dozens of transactions in the company's stock since he took office.
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Apart from Nvidia, Trump bought shares in other large technology firms such as Apple, Meta and Microsoft.
DeKleptocracy has questioned whether Trump's personal financial interests played a part in policy moves that helped the chipmaker and the broader AI sector. It compared the debate over a suspected Chinese intelligence operation involving Nvidia with the possible influence of the President's own investments on US policy.
The White House has defended Trump's investments before. It says outside financial firms run his portfolio and decide on trades on their own, without input from him, and a spokesperson has said there is no conflict of interest.
The findings add to the scrutiny already on Nvidia after Jensen Huang stepped down as chief executive, amid reports of his alleged ties to a businesswoman whom US intelligence officials reportedly viewed as a Chinese intelligence asset. The Justice Department says it is yet to reach a conclusion on her alleged links to Beijing, which has denied the espionage claims.
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