The U.S. government has quietly built an approximately $27 billion corporate equity investment portfolio

PANews July 26, 2024, citing Fortune: The Trump administration in the United States, through at least four institutions—including the Department of Commerce, the Department of Defense, the Department of Energy, and the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation—has cumulatively invested about $26.7 billion in equity or equity-like instruments in Intel, MP Materials, Vulcan Elements, xLight, and multiple quantum computing companies. This includes, via the U.S. Department of Commerce, holding a passive equity stake of about 9.9% in Intel; based on market value, it has risen from about $8.9 billion to about $42 billion. Other than the U.S. International Development Finance Corporation, which has a clear legal framework for equity investments, most of the other institutions operate under vague authorizations. The relevant shareholdings have not been disclosed in a concentrated way, and gains have also scarcely been reflected in the federal budget, raising questions about investment transparency, long-term management mechanisms, and potential conflicts of interest between the president’s personal holdings and these investments.