technology ·
Trump bought up Nvidia stock as he decided on policy that would benefit chipmaker
The former Nvidia chief executive has been described as a close Trump ally.
The former Nvidia chief executive has been described as a close Trump ally. In May 2025, Trump’s administration rescinded a Biden-era rule designed to prevent the most advanced US AI chips from being exported to China. This rule aimed to strengthen the US’s own chip industry and to protect America from what was widely regarded as a national security threat: the possibility that China might develop superior AI.
In the days before he rescinded the rule, Trump’s public financial disclosures indicate that he bought between $1m (£760,000) and $5m worth of Nvidia stock – a purchase noted in an analysis by the anti-corruption group DeKleptocracy. He also bought shares in other tech companies, including Microsoft, Meta and Apple. The diffusion rule would have limited Nvidia’s ability to sell to what has been one of its largest markets: China accounted for about a quarter of the company’s sales between 2010 and 2022. Nvidia’s shares rose in value just after Trump unveiled the rescission of the rule, and after he had bought the stock.
