Trump’s investments include companies he bashed

  • Comments
  • Print
Listen to this story

Subscriber Benefit

As a subscriber you can listen to articles at work, in the car, or while you work out. Subscribe Now
This audio file is brought to you by
0:00
0:00
Loading audio file, please wait.
  • 0.25
  • 0.50
  • 0.75
  • 1.00
  • 1.25
  • 1.50
  • 1.75
  • 2.00

Donald Trump has invested in some of the companies that he uses as punching bags on the campaign trail—including the parent of Carrier Corp., according to new financial documents he submitted to the U.S. government.

In his 104-page public financial disclosure report, the presumptive Republican nominee reported holding investments in companies like Ford Motor Co., Apple Inc. and the parent company of the maker of Oreo cookies—all businesses that he's assailed for outsourcing or, in Apple's case, not agreeing to crack into iPhones for police or federal law enforcement in criminal cases. Trump also has invested in other companies that have outsourced jobs but escaped his public shaming.

One of Trump's main talking points during his campaign rallies is that as president he would stop the outflow of American jobs. He often calls out companies and their products by name. The investments make up only a tiny fraction of Trump's reported net worth, and a comparison with his previous filings show he's reduced his holdings in some of the companies he targets.

Trump's campaign did not respond to emailed questions about his investments in companies that have recently outsourced jobs. The campaign also did not return a phone message from The Associated Press on Wednesday.

"We're going to tax you when those air conditioners come," Trump said in February of air conditioner manufacturer Carrier Corp., whose parent company United Technologies Corp. decided to move 1,400 jobs from Indiana to Monterrey, Mexico. The move was a major topic during Trump's campaign stops in Indiana leading up to the May 2 primary election. 

Trump no longer owns stock in UTC, but he earned between $2,500 and $5,000 in interest income from a sold investment.

"I love Oreos. I will never eat them again," Trump said in August after Nabisco announced it was laying off 600 bakery workers in Chicago and building a new facility in Mexico. Trump reported between $5,000 and $15,000 in interest income from a now-sold investment in Nabisco's parent company.

"Who do they think they are?" Trump said of Apple in February, when the company balked at hacking an iPhone used by one of the two people in a mass shooting in San Bernardino, California. More recently, Trump pledged to make Apple "build their damn computers and things in this country." Trump holds multiple investments in Apple, which combined are worth between $1.1 million and $2.25 million.

In March, Trump blasted Disney for its "outrageous practices" in requiring 250 Florida workers to train their foreign replacements before being laid off. Trump owns between $15,000 and $50,000 in Disney stock.

In April, Trump called Ford's plans to open a $1.6 billion assembly plant in Mexico "an absolute disgrace," and threatened to impose a 35 percent tax on imported Ford vehicles. In his personal financial disclosures, Trump reports investments in Ford Motor Credit Co. worth between $500,000 and $1 million.

Trump so far hasn't attacked all of the companies he listed on his financial records that have outsourced jobs. Trump listed investments in V F Corp. and Thermo Fisher Scientific, both of which moved jobs out of the U.S. in high-profile outsourcing deals last year.

But Trump has put the others on notice.

"Carrier and Ford and Nabisco need to know that there are consequences to leaving and firing people," Trump said at a rally in Evansville last month. "You can't just go to another country and make products to sell across our weak borders."

Please enable JavaScript to view this content.

Editor's note: You can comment on IBJ stories by signing in to your IBJ account. If you have not registered, please sign up for a free account now. Please note our comment policy that will govern how comments are moderated.

Get the best of Indiana business news. ONLY $1/week Subscribe Now

Get the best of Indiana business news. ONLY $1/week Subscribe Now

Get the best of Indiana business news. ONLY $1/week Subscribe Now

Get the best of Indiana business news. ONLY $1/week Subscribe Now

Get the best of Indiana business news.

Limited-time introductory offer for new subscribers

ONLY $1/week

Cancel anytime

Subscribe Now

Already a paid subscriber? Log In

Get the best of Indiana business news.

Limited-time introductory offer for new subscribers

ONLY $1/week

Cancel anytime

Subscribe Now

Already a paid subscriber? Log In

Get the best of Indiana business news.

Limited-time introductory offer for new subscribers

ONLY $1/week

Cancel anytime

Subscribe Now

Already a paid subscriber? Log In

Get the best of Indiana business news.

Limited-time introductory offer for new subscribers

ONLY $1/week

Cancel anytime

Subscribe Now

Already a paid subscriber? Log In