U.S. President Donald Trump bought up to $50,000 (about 70 million won) worth of stock in Elon Musk's space company SpaceX in June, a disclosure that has revived concerns over conflicts of interest.
According to Reuters, Trump's financial disclosure released on the 22nd showed that he purchased SpaceX shares worth between $15,001 and $50,000 on June 23. The transaction was one of more than 1,000 stock trades Trump made over the course of June.
SpaceX carried out the largest initial public offering in U.S. stock market history by offering price on June 12, earning a valuation of $1.77 trillion (about 2,445 trillion won). On June 23, when Trump bought the shares, SpaceX stock had fallen to the mid-$150s after climbing above $200 shortly after the offering.
The purchase has drawn scrutiny because it coincided with a series of Trump administration policy decisions that could affect SpaceX's business outlook. On the 20th, Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) to sharply expand U.S. commercial space launches to 1,000 a year by 2030 — and SpaceX accounts for a large share of the country's commercial launch activity. SpaceX is also a major contractor for the U.S. military and depends on permits and approvals from various federal agencies.
Critics say the purchase adds a new financial link between Trump and Musk's rocket company at a time when the government is making decisions that could determine SpaceX's fate. In a statement to Reuters, White House spokesman Davis Ingle said the president's assets are managed independently by third-party financial institutions that track established indexes such as the Schwab 1000, and stressed that neither Trump nor any family member has any authority to direct, influence or weigh in on how the portfolio is invested or when trades are made.
Reuters and other foreign media reported in early June that more than a dozen officials in the Trump administration held SpaceX shares worth millions of dollars.
