Trump spent thousands on TKO stock while promoting UFC event at White House

President Donald Trump purchased between $15,000 and $50,000 worth of stock in TKO Holding Group, the parent company of the UFC and WWE, weeks before a UFC event at the White House that he has been promoting for months.

The purchase was disclosed in Trump’s May 8 financial disclosures, which are publicly available through the U.S. Office of Government Ethics. These documents do not specify the amount of stock Trump purchased, but indicate that he acquired them on March 25 – a little more than two weeks after the Freedom Fights 250 fight card was publicly revealed.

Trump’s personal stock portfolio is under renewed scrutiny this week after the Pentagon announced a $9.7 billion defense contract award to Dell Technologies, in which the president has invested millions of dollars over the past three months.

“Fake News’ continued attempts to fabricate conflicts of interest are irresponsible and reinforce the public’s distrust of what they read,” White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement provided to The Athletic. “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. President Trump’s assets are in a trust managed by his children. There are no conflicts of interest.”

A trust oversees Trump’s investments, but it is not a blind trust, structured to ensure that the owner has no knowledge or control over the trust’s activities.

The UFC is scheduled to hold the first professional sporting event on the White House grounds on June 14, Trump’s 80th birthday, to celebrate the 250th anniversary of the founding of the nation. Construction is underway on the South Lawn of the White House, with seating for approximately 4,300 attendees and a large temporary arch nicknamed “The Claw” to be erected earlier this week.

Dana White, UFC president and CEO, said the promotion is spending $60 million to produce the series, and that the UFC will foot the $700,000 bill for the restoration of the South Lawn after the event.

The event card includes a lightweight title fight between reigning champion Ilia Topuria and Justin Gaethje, as well as an interim heavyweight title fight between Alex Pereira and Ciryl Gane. Heavyweights Josh Hokit and Derrick Lewis are also on the card, alongside bantamweights Sean O’Malley and Aiemann Zahabi; lightweights Mauricio Ruffy and Michael Chandler; middleweights Bo Nickal and Kyle Daukaus; and featherweights Diego Lopes and Steve Garcia.

TKO did not respond to a request for comment from The Athletic. This story will be updated if that changes.

Dana White supported Donald Trump during his three presidential campaigns. (Tasos Katopodis/Getty Images)

HuffPo was first to report on TKO’s investment. In response to criticism that Trump’s personal financial dealings are indicative of favoritism and corruption, his inner circle has repeatedly said he does not make decisions on specific investments.

“The president doesn’t sit in the Oval Office on his computer, in his Robinhood account, buying and selling stocks. That’s absurd,” Vice President JD Vance told reporters at a White House press briefing earlier this month. “He has independent wealth advisors who manage his money. He is a wealthy person. He has had success in business. He does not make these stock transactions himself.”

Trump’s relationship with the UFC dates back to the company’s emergence in the 1990s and 2000s. His venues in Atlantic City, New Jersey, hosted some of the first major events, and White considers the president a close friend who he credits with helping the UFC overcome its early political and financial hurdles.

White has spoken out in favor of Trump at the Republican National Convention during his three presidential campaigns, although White described himself during a Wednesday interview with NPR as a “1980s Democrat” and said he leaned left.

TKO leader Ari Emanuel is a well-known Democrat who has donated tens of millions of dollars to party candidates, including former Vice President Kamala Harris’ 2024 campaign against Trump. His older brother Rahm Emanuel served as chief of staff to President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2010 and as mayor of Chicago from 2011 to 2019.

Emanuel and Dell’s young founder, Michael Dell, recently crossed financial paths by becoming a minority owner of the NFL’s Las Vegas Raiders. They were part of a group that purchased a combined 25.3 percent stake in the franchise in a purchase approved by the league on May 20. Mark Shapiro, COO of TKO, also bought the collective.

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