Business
Marjorie Taylor Greene accused of using son to cover up stock trades
By Jake Beardslee · January 3, 2024
In brief…
- Greene denied personally trading stocks in 2023 after being listed among top Congressional performers. Claimed trades likely came from her son's account.
- Unusual Whales report showed her with 18.6% returns, underperforming the overall market.
- Some on social media accused her of using son's account to cover up own trading.
- Analysis found House Democrats overall outperformed Republicans in 2023 returns.
- Group says reporting meant to prompt debate on lawmakers trading individual stocks.
Republican Representative Marjorie Taylor Greene recently denied personally trading stocks in 2023, after a report from market analysis group Unusual Whales listed her among members of Congress who saw substantial gains in their investment portfolios last year.
Unusual Whales published a report showing the 100 members of Congress who profited most from stock trades in 2023. The group said many lawmakers “made unusually timed trades resulting in huge gains,” though Greene was ranked in the middle of the list with estimated returns of 18.6% on her portfolio. This underperformed the overall market, represented by the S&P 500 index which rose about 23% in 2023.
Greene claimed on Fox News that she does not “own any stocks” and has not traded in 2023. She suggested the trades attributed to her may have come from an account set up years ago by her ex-husband for their son. Members of Congress must disclose assets owned by themselves, a spouse or dependent children. Greene’s past filings show her children own some shares.
Some on social media accused Greene of using her son to cover up her own trading, Newsweek reported. Lawmakers are prohibited from trading stocks based on non-public information but can buy and sell shares even when their legislation impacts a company.
Democrats overall saw higher returns than Republicans in 2023, though House Republicans filed fewer financial transactions according to the analysis. Democrats had estimated gains of 31% collectively versus 18% for Republicans.
Unusual Whales has reported on Congressional stock trading for years in an effort to spur discussion on whether lawmakers should be allowed to trade individual stocks at all while in office.