Zürcher Nachrichten - Trump presidency raises fresh conflict of interest concerns

EUR -
AED 3.826681
AFN 70.961758
ALL 98.138602
AMD 405.652886
ANG 1.877182
AOA 951.190259
ARS 1045.720247
AUD 1.602814
AWG 1.877897
AZN 1.775245
BAM 1.955573
BBD 2.102956
BDT 124.465544
BGN 1.955294
BHD 0.392554
BIF 3076.642669
BMD 1.041829
BND 1.403837
BOB 7.197164
BRL 6.043693
BSD 1.041579
BTN 87.914489
BWP 14.229347
BYN 3.408604
BYR 20419.848375
BZD 2.099456
CAD 1.456529
CDF 2991.091432
CHF 0.930957
CLF 0.036923
CLP 1018.83097
CNY 7.54601
CNH 7.562783
COP 4573.368835
CRC 530.538382
CUC 1.041829
CUP 27.608468
CVE 110.252195
CZK 25.343745
DJF 185.478458
DKK 7.457729
DOP 62.772709
DZD 139.835759
EGP 51.726992
ERN 15.627435
ETB 127.508391
FJD 2.371151
FKP 0.822333
GBP 0.831435
GEL 2.855018
GGP 0.822333
GHS 16.456089
GIP 0.822333
GMD 73.970229
GNF 8977.957272
GTQ 8.040066
GYD 217.904692
HKD 8.110066
HNL 26.320943
HRK 7.431636
HTG 136.72412
HUF 411.522823
IDR 16610.452733
ILS 3.856892
IMP 0.822333
INR 87.968134
IQD 1364.44153
IRR 43834.955489
ISK 145.523076
JEP 0.822333
JMD 165.930728
JOD 0.738765
JPY 161.244275
KES 134.884334
KGS 90.122166
KHR 4193.512952
KMF 492.268155
KPW 937.645704
KRW 1463.259646
KWD 0.320727
KYD 0.867999
KZT 520.059599
LAK 22878.342838
LBP 93271.167197
LKR 303.144792
LRD 187.998165
LSL 18.795317
LTL 3.076251
LVL 0.630192
LYD 5.086409
MAD 10.478083
MDL 18.997794
MGA 4861.435378
MKD 61.522855
MMK 3383.819949
MNT 3540.134882
MOP 8.35093
MRU 41.443187
MUR 48.810083
MVR 16.10707
MWK 1806.090235
MXN 21.283008
MYR 4.654932
MZN 66.583684
NAD 18.795317
NGN 1767.675143
NIO 38.325549
NOK 11.53576
NPR 140.663663
NZD 1.785942
OMR 0.400943
PAB 1.041579
PEN 3.949541
PGK 4.193513
PHP 61.404399
PKR 289.239507
PLN 4.337676
PYG 8131.055634
QAR 3.798559
RON 4.978071
RSD 116.991412
RUB 108.671879
RWF 1421.834864
SAR 3.911473
SBD 8.734231
SCR 14.272055
SDG 626.663972
SEK 11.497837
SGD 1.402931
SHP 0.822333
SLE 23.68116
SLL 21846.638123
SOS 595.230868
SRD 36.978718
STD 21563.75683
SVC 9.113941
SYP 2617.626467
SZL 18.788818
THB 35.922648
TJS 11.092512
TMT 3.646401
TND 3.309016
TOP 2.440072
TRY 35.9978
TTD 7.074178
TWD 33.946439
TZS 2770.578216
UAH 43.089995
UGX 3848.553017
USD 1.041829
UYU 44.294855
UZS 13362.448044
VES 48.506662
VND 26482.251319
VUV 123.688032
WST 2.90836
XAF 655.880824
XAG 0.033274
XAU 0.000384
XCD 2.815595
XDR 0.792308
XOF 655.880824
XPF 119.331742
YER 260.379151
ZAR 18.915093
ZMK 9377.71492
ZMW 28.772658
ZWL 335.468513
  • BCC

    3.4200

    143.78

    +2.38%

  • SCS

    0.2300

    13.27

    +1.73%

  • RELX

    0.9900

    46.75

    +2.12%

  • GSK

    0.2600

    33.96

    +0.77%

  • RBGPF

    59.2400

    59.24

    +100%

  • NGG

    1.0296

    63.11

    +1.63%

  • RIO

    -0.2200

    62.35

    -0.35%

  • CMSC

    0.0320

    24.672

    +0.13%

  • BCE

    0.0900

    26.77

    +0.34%

  • JRI

    -0.0200

    13.21

    -0.15%

  • VOD

    0.1323

    8.73

    +1.52%

  • BP

    0.2000

    29.72

    +0.67%

  • RYCEF

    -0.0100

    6.79

    -0.15%

  • AZN

    1.3700

    65.63

    +2.09%

  • BTI

    0.4000

    37.38

    +1.07%

  • CMSD

    0.0150

    24.46

    +0.06%

Trump presidency raises fresh conflict of interest concerns
Trump presidency raises fresh conflict of interest concerns / Photo: Ian Maule - AFP

Trump presidency raises fresh conflict of interest concerns

Donald Trump's impending White House return poses questions once again about conflicts of interest related to his business empire, with new cryptocurrency and other ventures raising fresh concerns.

Text size:

The billionaire's stunning political comeback is "rocket fuel for the Trump Empire," said Mark Hass, an Arizona State University marketing professor.

After almost a decade of making headlines around the globe, Trump's "brand is... sort of the Nike or Apple of politics," he said.

"Everybody in the world knows what it stands for.

Trump no longer holds an executive title at the Trump Organization, which has been run by his two eldest sons since his 2016 election win.

However, the 78-year-old has retained his stake in the family business via a trust, which during his first term in office was managed by a third party.

After he left the White House, Trump made himself a co-administrator of the trust. He has yet to say if he will relinquish the position when he takes office again in January.

Regardless, according to Hass, Trump's association with his businesses will persist.

"Maybe he does not have a direct role in it, but you couldn't get as close to the business without directly running it, than having your sons run it and to have your name on it," he said.

Tim Calkins, a Northwestern University marketing professor, said that Trump's victory has likely revived the family's brand.

"Brands are associations and at the moment the Trump brand is associated with winning, comebacks and momentum," he told AFP.

"Trump is still a very polarizing brand, but the election outcome has strengthened the positive associations," he said.

Since Trump's last term in office, the family business has struck substantial deals overseas, with several linked to Saudi Arabia.

The Trump Organization has partnered with Saudi developer Dar Global on a high-rise apartment complex in the Red Sea city of Jeddah, a luxury building in Dubai and a hotel complex in Oman.

It has also signed an agreement with LIV Golf, controlled by the Saudi sovereign wealth fund, and has hosted several LIV events on Trump-owned golf courses.

Haas said that such partners understand the contracts give them "influence" over Trump, and will ultimately produce financial benefits for him.

- Stock price -

Trump's conflicts of interest will be "a lot worse" than his last presidency, said Jordan Libowitz, vice president of communications at CREW, a government ethics watchdog group.

Libowitz pointed to Trump's expanded portfolio, which now includes a media group trading on the public market.

"There's nothing stopping, say, the Saudi wealth fund, the Emirati wealth fund, the Kuwait wealth fund -- which all do major investments in technology stocks... from pouring hundreds of millions of dollars into the stock," he said.

Trump owns nearly 53 percent of the Trump Media Technology Group (TMTG), the parent company of his Truth Social platform.

That stake is currently valued at around $3.8 billion -- making up the majority of his estimated $5.9 billion wealth, according to Forbes.

Foreign investors buying up the stock could raise its price greatly, said Libowitz. "But they can also crash it by selling all en masse."

The New York Post has reported, citing members of Trump's campaign team, that billionaire ally Elon Musk is considering acquiring Truth Social through X, his platform formerly known as Twitter.

The president-elect has also recently ventured into the world of cryptocurrencies, joining his sons in backing a new exchange platform called World Liberty Financial.

Trump is not a shareholder or board member of the start-up, but will receive compensation for the platform using his name.

"It's still not clear how it works or what it's doing," Libowitz said. "But cryptocurrency is notorious for its ability to funnel money anonymously, particularly from overseas."

CREW is considering filing suit against Trump -- as it did during his first administration -- arguing that the president is receiving payments from foreign clients in violation of the US Constitution.

The group's previous suit eventually made its way to the Supreme Court, but it was dismissed because Trump had already left the White House.

"I think it'll be a much more transactional presidency, because there are no obstacles," Hass said of Trump's second term.

"Trump, if nothing else, understands how to monetize his name and his fame."

H.Roth--NZN