Trump allies suspected of insider trading, making millions — Esquire
Photo: Stock Exchange (Getty Images)
Traders in financial markets are raking in windfall profits by placing bets just minutes before key statements from Donald Trump. Spikes in trading volume occur even before the news appears in the media or on social media, which looks suspicious, according to Esquire.
The market reacts instantly to any statements by politicians or breaking news, but some act even faster, according to an article based on BBC data. Analysts examined trading volume data from financial platforms and compared it with the most significant statements by US President Donald Trump.
It turned out that prices began to move several hours, and sometimes even minutes, before the publication of Trump’s posts or statements. This looks like classic insider trading: someone is placing bets based on secret information. Other experts say that traders have simply learned to read Trump, but the facts suggest otherwise.
The most high-profile cases of suspicious trading:
- War with Iran: bets on falling oil prices increased 47 minutes before the announcement of the conflict’s end
- Posts on Truth Social: large trades appeared 14 minutes before reports of peace talks
- Tariff wars: the market began to rise 18 minutes before the announcement of a pause in the tariffs.
Oil and war: how to make money on a single call
The situation surrounding Iran became a gold mine for speculators. Nine days after the conflict began, Trump gave an interview to CBS News in which he stated that the war was practically over.
The timeline of events on April 18 is striking in its precision, the article notes:
- 6:29 p.m. GMT: The market saw a sharp spike in bets on falling oil prices
- 7:16 p.m. GMT: A reporter posts a quote from Trump about the end of the war on X
- 7:17 p.m. GMT: Oil prices plummet by 25%.
Traders who opened positions 47 minutes before the post went live made millions. They knew the content of the phone interview even before it aired.
A similar incident occurred on March 23. Trump wrote on Truth Social about productive negotiations with Tehran. Fourteen minutes before this post, trading volumes for Brent crude oil became abnormal. One analyst called these trades undoubtedly abnormal.
'Liberation day' and historic stock surge
Speculation isn’t limited to energy commodities. The US stock market is also demonstrating a strange intuition. For example, on April 2, Trump announced the imposition of sweeping tariffs on nearly the entire world, and the indices fell.
But just a week later, the situation reversed: the US President announced a 90-day pause in tariffs for everyone except China. This triggered a historic 9.5% surge in the S&P 500 index. Such growth hasn’t been seen since World War II.
And again, bets began to be placed 18 minutes before the official announcement. While the world waited for the news, a select few were already preparing to reap huge profits.
This creates an entire class of military speculators who profit from geopolitical chaos. Ordinary investors are left with nothing. But the key question remains: who exactly is leaking information from the White House?
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