Trump bought Nvidia shares before easing chip sales to China
Financial disclosures show US President Donald Trump purchased millions in Nvidia stock before revoking export restrictions.
US President Donald Trump purchased millions of dollars in Nvidia stock prior to making decisions that eased export restrictions on the chipmaker for the Chinese market, according to an analysis by anti-corruption group DeKleptocracy reported by Times of India.
The analysis found that Trump bought between $1 million and $5 million worth of Nvidia shares in the days before his administration scrapped the Biden-era diffusion rule in May 2025. This rule had restricted the export of advanced US-made artificial intelligence (AI) chips to China to prevent the country from developing superior AI capabilities.
The removal of the rule allowed Nvidia to expand its reach in a market that represented nearly 25 per cent of its revenue from 2010 to 2022. Nvidia's share value increased after the reversal was announced.
Trump's investments in the company continued as his administration further relaxed restrictions. In December 2025, Trump announced that Nvidia could sell H200 chips to China, a move approved by the US Commerce Department in January 2026.
The Council on Foreign Relations warned that selling these chips could "supercharge" China's future AI factories. Experts told The Guardian that the H200 chips were among the most advanced products and were six times more powerful than chips available in China at that time.
Trump's disclosures also show he purchased shares in Apple, Meta and Microsoft. He reportedly made at least three additional Nvidia purchases worth between $250,001 and $500,000 each following the H200 announcement.
