President Donald Trump gleefully recounted how much money his billionaire pals made on the stock market after he suddenly suspended most of his worldwide tariffs.
Stocks zoomed Wednesday after Trump pulled the plug on the tariffs.
“THIS IS A GREAT TIME TO BUY!!!!” he urged on Truth Social shortly after the market opened and before he suspended the levies for 90 days just four hours later.
Stocks jumped more than 7 percent Wednesday within minutes of his announcement suspending the tariff for 90 days. The market ultimately closed more than 9 percent higher.
At the White House Oval Office that day, Trump pointed to a pair of billionaire visitors.
“He made $2.5 million, and he made $900 million! That’s not bad!” Trump said, pointing to financial investor Charles Schwab and then NASCAR team owner Roger Penske. The men were part of a visiting guest contingent of mostly racing notables.
Schwab is estimated to be worth $12.9 billion and Penske $5.6 billion.
Bloomberg reported that Wednesday was the “best day ever” for billionaires as the world’s wealthiest people raked in $304 billion as the markets rocketed back up.
The Wednesday windfalls triggered accusations of market manipulation and even insider trading, as Trump critics accused the president of tipping off his well-heeled friends to buy, knowing that a suspension of the tariffs on his order would boost stock prices.
California Democratic Adam Schiff is calling for a congressional investigation.
Arizona Democratic Senator Ruben Gallego joined Schiff in signing a letter sent to the White House Thursday morning to “request an urgent inquiry into whether President Trump, his family, or other members of the administration engaged in insider trading or other illegal financial transactions” with advanced knowledge of non-public information about the tariff policy change.”
A White House spokesperson accused the Democrats of playing “partisan games” after calls for an investigation.
