While Trump boasts about the profits of American oil and gas companies, his stocks made millions during the Iran war.

Washington — As President Trump boasts about how much money the U.S. oil and gas industry makes from the war with Iran, his personal oil and gas holdings are now worth between $22.5 million and $81.6 million, up from $12.6 million to $46 million at the end of 2025, according to a new report from Democrats on the Joint Congressional Economic Committee.

The value of stocks owned by the president has increased by an average of 43% since the end of 2025, the Democratic minority said, based on data from LSEG Data Analytics. The report also reveals that the president purchased between $4.7 million and $17.5 million in oil and gas stocks between March, after the war began, and the end of August, which is the most recent data available. He also sold between $2 million and $5.4 million in oil and gas stocks during the same period, the minority found.

The report was obtained exclusively by CBS News and is based on the president’s financial filings with the Office of Government Ethics. Reporters are only required to report transaction ranges, not specific amounts.

But as Americans pay significantly higher gas prices because of the war’s downstream effects, Mr. Trump boasted Saturday night in Georgia that American oil and gas companies are “making hundreds of billions of dollars.”

“And even though oil prices are temporarily high and will fall dramatically in a short period of time, as soon as this war is over, because there is so much oil,” he told the crowd. “In the Strait of Hormuz, there are ships waiting to come in, we’re getting them out so fast. The U.S. oil and gas industry makes hundreds of billions of dollars. … Our country makes hundreds of billions of dollars because of what happened in the Middle East.”

The president added that his advisers told him not to mention how much money the oil and gas industry was making from the chaos in the Middle East.

The richest person to serve as president, Mr. Trump owns a vast stock portfolio with stakes in every sector of the economy. He executed thousands of stock and securities trades this year, worth hundreds of millions of dollars, CBS News reported. previously reported. The White House said Mr. Trump does not make business decisions himself and his fund managers try to replicate major stock indexes.

“President Trump only acts in the best interest of the American public – that’s why they overwhelmingly re-elected him to this office, despite years of lies and false accusations against him and his businesses,” White House spokesman Davis Ingle said.

Ingle said Mr. Trump’s stock and bond portfolio is “independently managed by third-party financial institutions” and that all of his holdings are “kept in discretionary accounts and invested through computerized model portfolios that automatically track recognized indexes.”

“Neither President Trump nor any member of his family has the ability to direct, influence or provide input on how the portfolio is invested or when investments are bought or sold,” Ingle added. “All investment decisions are made entirely by independent managers. There is no conflict of interest.”

In a July 2026 interview with CNBC, Mr. Trump said his son, Eric Trump, also took care of his finances.

Energy stocks surged as the war in Iran pushed oil and gasoline prices to their highest levels in years, generating profits for oil companies. Share prices of energy companies listed on the S&P 500 have jumped more than 50% since the start of the year, far outpacing the roughly 11% jump in the S&P 500 as a whole.

In early February, before the war in Iran began in late February, nationwide the average cost of a gallon of regular gasoline was $2.87, and a gallon of diesel cost $3.68. Today, eight months later, it is $4.29, and diesel is $6.28 per gallon. The global benchmark for crude oil, Brent, is also hovering above $115 a barrel, compared to less than $75 the day before the war began.

“Trump’s war on Iran has forced Americans to pay much more at the pump while big oil companies reap profits and the president’s stock wealth in the oil and gas industry continues to soar,” said Sen. Maggie Hassan of New Hampshire, the top Democrat on the Joint Economic Committee. “As Trump – the nation’s highest-ranking official – continues to own and trade stock in companies that stand to benefit from his decisions, his actions raise significant concerns about conflicts of interest.”

Presidents, vice presidents and members of Congress are allowed to own, buy and sell stocks while in office, although insider trading laws still apply.

The minority said the president’s stock purchases or their total value could be even higher, since he has not yet reported September or October transactions.

Of the nine stocks that make up the largest oil and gas holdings in Mr. Trump’s portfolio, Chevron and ExxonMobil account for the largest share. He owns up to $23.1 million worth of Chevron stock and up to $18.4 million in ExxonMobil, which have seen their stock prices rise nearly 25% and nearly 22% in value, respectively, since Feb. 20.

Democrats on the committee estimate that American families have spent an average of $856 more on gasoline since the war began.

There are occasional reminders that the president’s statements affect policies. In August, Mr. Trump accused ExxonMobil and Chevron of making “too much money” from fuel profits.

“They make too much money, okay?” » he declared in the Oval Office. “Because of the shortage, they’re making too much money. I don’t like that. And I should be the last to say that because I’m a big believer in free enterprise, no one bigger.”

Buying and selling energy stocks represents only a small portion of the president’s overall net worth, which Forbes estimated at about $7 billion in September.

In August, CBS News reviewed the president’s oil and gas jobs. A notable major transaction took place on April 7, the day the president declared a ceasefire in the war. His investment accounts sold between $500,000 and $1 million worth of ExxonMobil stock, according to a financial disclosure report filed by Mr. Trump in late June. The company’s stock price closed at $163.91 on April 7, before Mr. Trump announced the ceasefire that evening, and it opened down more than 6% at $153.52 on April 8.

THE cost of living continues to be a major issue for voters.

Last week, Mr Trump accused Iran of trying to drive up oil prices in the run-up to next week’s US election.

“Iran is doing everything it can to raise the price of oil before the US midterm elections,” he wrote on Truth Social. “They even make up fake strikes, mines and everything else, because more oil is going through the Strait of Hormuz now than before the conflict started.”

Since Mr. Trump launched war against Iran on February 28, the conflict has curbed oil exports in the region, particularly in the Strait of Hormuz. Oil shipments from the Middle East have increased since then, with exporters seeking alternative routes and some traffic across the strait restored. But disruption, tight supply and uncertainty have driven up prices, even in the United States, which is the world’s largest exporter of petroleum products.

The president has made efforts to lower fuel prices, including striking a deal with Russia to buy Russian diesel fuel and waiving sanctions he had just signed into law. But this fuel from Russia, a controversial initiative, is a fall in the bucket of massive U.S. demand and does little to lower diesel prices.

On Thursday, the president announcement he would invoke the Defense Production Act to spend $150 million to boost gasoline and diesel production.

Mr. Trump has said gas prices would “fall through the roof” once the war ends, but even if that were the case, it is unclear when the war will end.

The president did not rule out resuming strikes against Iran after the midterms. US Ambassador to the United Nations Mike Waltz told the Financial Times the war could last another year, although he hoped Iran’s leaders would “come to the table” before then.