Larry Kudlow questions ‘Pelosi’s trading companies’ and alleged ‘slow-walking’ of pending regs

Get the latest BPR news delivered free to your inbox daily. SIGN UP HERE

Fox Business Network host Larry Kudlow offered up a damning critique of Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., declaring that he has a problem with her trading companies that face serious regulatory issues while slow-walking these endeavors around the tech giants in the eyes of many.

Kudlow, who served as the director of the National Economic Council during the Trump Administration, noted a 1 percent in the tech-heavy NASDAQ Index on Monday, deadpanning that he was worried about Pelosi’s “almost perfect investment track record.”

“The Gordon Gekko of the New York Stock Exchange. The oracle of Omaha is dead. Long live the Queen of Stocks,” Kudlow opined. “According to reports, she and her husband Paul Pelosi have traded over $50 million in assets over the past year with annualized returns at 69% as of October, according to an estimate from the Nancy Pelosi portfolio tracker.”

“That’s higher than Buffett, George Soros, Cathy Wood, and other star investors,” he continued. “Apparently, the Pelosi portfolio beat the S&P 500 by 4.9 percent in 2019 and a big 14.3 percent gain in 2020, according to an outfit called FinePrint. Ms. Pelosi is becoming a cult figure among stock investors.”

A couple of Pelosi investment scores noted by Kudlow was the “brilliant move” of purchasing hundreds of thousands of dollars in the gaming company Roblox when it went public in March, and seeing that investment double in value despite plenty of skepticism. Another huge score was a $1 million investment in computer chip maker Nvidia, which skyrocketed 70% amid the worldwide chip shortage.

Kudlow said the Pelosi “disclosed that they purchased millions in bullish call options for stocks including Google, Salesforce, and Micron Technology,” adding that they “have reportedly reaped at least $5.6 million and up to $30.4 million in capital gains and dividends from their holdings in five Big Tech firms: Facebook, Google, Amazon, Apple, and Microsoft.”

“Now, frankly, I don’t have any problem with Ms. Pelosi getting rich. I like the fact that she’s heavily invested in stocks and is last year’s Wall Street trader of the year. I’ve always believed that a rising tide would lift all boats,” he said. “But I do have a slight problem with Ms. Pelosi’s trading companies that have serious regulatory issues pending before the Congress. Some people believe she has been slow-walking regulatory issues around the tech giants. ”

Recognizing that there are ethical rules in place for Congress, Kudlow was still skeptical. He also noted that Pelosi upset a number of her left-wing colleagues when she last month, “We’re in a free market economy.”

“Really, Ms. Pelosi? Just sayin’ ma’am. Every policy you have backed runs counter to your ‘free market economy,'” he said. “Not only does that include your advocacy for government takeovers for energy, health care, banking, and elsewhere, but you have always enthusiastically supported big tax hikes on those who ‘don’t pay their fair share.'”

While reaping $30 million on capital gains and dividends over the past many years, Kudlow observed, Pelosi enjoyed the benefit of the GOP slashing the tax rate here.

Speaking of their amicable history, which included previous interviews, Kudlow shared that Pelosi “greeted me before the start of a [Trump] cabinet room meeting with a hug.”

“Of course, I disagree with her policy views. But then again, if Ms. Pelosi is back to defending the free market and stock market trading, maybe the gap between her economic thinking and mine is about to narrow. Wouldn’t bet on it, but hope springs eternal,” he concluded. “That said, I would suggest to the speaker that she promote tax incentives that will create the grand opportunity for all Americans to get rich and benefit by superior stock-picking skills. If you tax something less, Ms. Pelosi, like stocks, wealth, or jobs and incomes, you’ll get much more of it. The non-rich can get rich.”

Tom Tillison

Comment

We have no tolerance for comments containing violence, racism, profanity, vulgarity, doxing, or discourteous behavior. If a comment is spam, instead of replying to it please click the ∨ icon below and to the right of that comment. Thank you for partnering with us to maintain fruitful conversation.

Latest Articles