Article by Karamo Muchuri Sulieman republished from People’s World under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/.

U.S. Presidents have been known for their wealth. George Washington was one of the wealthiest men of his day and a slave owner. The vast estate of Mt. Vernon accounts for a considerable amount of wealth for his day. When the current price of land and livestock is added, it is difficult to ascertain. However, reliable sources say that George Washington’s assets upon entering the presidency, adjusted for inflation, were approximately $594 million in today’s money. About the only good thing one can say about this vast estate is that one part did not wish to be counted, and that was due to Ona Judge, who refused to be his slave and escaped to New Hampshire. They say Washington’s salary alone was approximately worth 2% of the national budget. In terms of relativity, it would amount to billions of dollars. 

Perhaps Donald Trump is a little better than George Washington. No, he did not dispatch the Secretary of the Treasury to bring back an escaped slave. Yet he presides over a nation with a minimum wage of $7.25, at a time when the average rent for a one-bedroom apartment ranges from $1,510 to $1,642. Many readers believe fast-food workers work 40  hours a week, when in reality many only work 30 hours, and some only work during lunch time for only 15 hours. Perhaps this is the modern-day version of chattel slavery. But reports vary: some say Trump’s personal fortune has risen from $1 billion to $4 billion. Some reporting estimates even more. 

In an article by Jenny Smyth, Trump entered his first term of office with a net worth of $2.3 billion, and now has a net worth of $6.5 billion. Perhaps it was due to his aggressive purloining of Venezuelan oil. If it didn’t go to China, it had to go somewhere, right? Maybe it was due to his sons, Donald Trump Jr. and Eric Trump, perfect management of his affairs… However, it seems that the President has used investment brokers. 

While Donald Trump, according to U.S. law, has every right to trade on the U.S. market, this right seems to smack of gross immorality given his enormous cuts to SNAP and social security. People are earning less, and with DEI on the President’s hit list, African Americans appear to be targeted for further wage cuts. He seems to have no respect for the law or humanity. He has increased the ferocity of the Cuban blockade and has threatened military action against her. I suppose Greenland had to make a deal. Trump appeared to make some political profit for his billionaire alliance. While, according to the Western media, he has not made any profit in Greenland,  his billionaire colleagues Bill Gates and Jeff Bezos have invested in Greenlandic mining operations. This is not nearly as lucrative as the gift of the luxury jet from the Qatar government. The opulent Boeing 747-8 will undergo modifications at L3Harris Technologies before entering service for presidential (Trump’s) use. The plane is said to be scheduled to make its debut on the Fourth of July in honor of the nation’s 250th birthday.

However, the president’s latest financial maneuvers have left a good portion of the public aghast. It seems the president has made active stock trades influenced, or at least guided, by his governmental decisions. According to Wion, the disclosures show around 3,600 to 3,700 stock and ETF transactions from January to March. The reported value of these transactions ranges from $220 milion to $750 million, all this while there is massive hunger and deprivation suffered by the working class—in particular minority groups—within the United States of America. 

Many of the stocks were made by the government for defense, government private contracts, and other concerns that required direct government involvement. For example, NBC News said in February and March that the president purchased stock seven times. On January 12, President Trump purchased  $100,000 to $250,000  worth of Oracle stock on the same day he finalized a U.S.-backed deal for a stake in TikTok.  From January through March, President Trump purchased DoorDash stock twelve times, around the same time he held an event with a DoorDash representative being praised at the White House. On January 6, the President purchased $500,000 of Nvidia Stock, and shortly after, on January 14, he approved a US-backed deal for Nvidia to sell chips to China. The president invested heavily in Palantir Industries, a defense contractor that builds AI-driven strategies for defense from “space to mud.” The stock has dropped 25% while the President has urged investors to buy on Truth Social. 

While the President has the right to purchase, the cry has grown louder for stricter controls to prevent insider trading and self-profit and gain by influential politicians. There is an imbalance in the system. The President cannot be allowed to make billions while many of his fellow Americans starve.

As with all op-eds published by People’s World, the views reflected here are those of the author.

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Article by Karamo Muchuri Sulieman republished from People’s World under http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/3.0/us/.