Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.), former House Speaker, revealed several stock trades made by her husband Paul in December and January. The companies involved were some of the largest tech firms in the world.
Congressional stock transaction disclosures are also known as periodic reports. They cover both trades by the member and spouse.
Ian Krager is the former speaker’s spokesperson. He said: “Speaker Pelosi has never owned any stocks and she had no prior knowledge of or involvement in any transaction.”
Pelosi disclosed that she had purchased 50 call options from Alphabet (the parent company of Google) and 50 call options from Amazon. This was according to the latest periodic transaction report submitted by the clerk of the House of Representatives.
The strike price for both sets of call options was $150. They were valued between $25,001 and $500,000. Call options allow investors to purchase shares at a certain price.
The disclosure showed that 10,000 shares of Nvidia were sold along with 31,600 Apple shares on December 31. Paul Pelosi purchased 50 additional Nvidia call options on Jan. 14, with a strike of $80, in a transaction that ranged between $250,000 to $500,000. Paul Pelosi also exercised 500 Nvidia call options on December 20 with a strike of $12. They were due to expire the same day.
This trade was between $500,000 and $1,000,000.
In addition to the disclosure made by the former speaker, several other investments were also mentioned. For example, 140 call options for 14,000 Palo Alto Networks shares at a strike of $100 were exercised in a transaction reported between $1 million and $5 million.
Pelosi revealed that she had also purchased 50 call options for Tempus AI at a strike price of $20, and 50 call option Vistra Corp. at a strike price of $50, on January 14. Vistra’s purchase ranged between $500,000 and $1 million, while Tempus’ was between $50,000 to $100,000.
Investments made by Paul Pelosi have attracted scrutiny amid mounting calls for members of Congress and their immediate family members to be banned from stock trading.
Last fall, Paul Pelosi sold over $500,000 in Visa stock ahead of a Justice Department antitrust suit against the credit card giant. Earlier last year, an analysis estimated that he made the couple nearly $4 million in six months off of Nvidia call options he bought in November 2023.
It’s illegal for members of Congress’ families to benefit from insider information, but lawmakers’ spouses can trade in companies or industries their partner may help regulate
In recent years, members of Congress from both political parties have proposed legislation that would prohibit lawmakers and their families from owning stocks. The Senate developed bipartisan bills in this direction during the previous Congress. However, neither bill became law by the end of that Congress. This leaves the issue up to the current Congress.
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