In a remarkable display of financial acumen, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outpaced the S&P 500 by nearly 200% in 2024, extending her run of surpassing the stock index's performance.
According to the financial data platform Unusual Whales' 2024 Congress Trading Report, Pelosi's portfolio swelled by 70.9% between December 29, 2023, and December 30, 2024. This growth stands in stark contrast to the S&P 500's return of 24.9% over the same period. The former speaker's 2024 investment results surpassed her impressive 2023 performance, during which she achieved a return of 65.5%, outstripping that year's S&P 500 return of 24.8% by roughly 164%.
In 2024, Pelosi's financial prowess exceeded that of several of the world's oldest and most substantial hedge funds, including Citadel, with $66 billion in assets under management as of December, and Discovery Capital, a firm with over 25 years of history and $15 billion in assets under management at its peak. Furthermore, her performance more than doubled the 27.1% 2024 return of Warren Buffet's Berkshire Hathaway.
As reported by Unusual Whales, Pelosi's trades are carried out by her husband, Paul, an investment banker. His strategy primarily involves purchasing call options in large technology companies following price drops. This approach proved successful in 2024, with Pelosi's contracts to buy chipmaker Nvidia ending the year up 273% and her contracts to acquire cybersecurity company Palo Alto Networks up 93% as of January 7.
A spokesman for Pelosi's office clarified to the Daily Caller News Foundation, "Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions."
Pelosi's financial savvy extends beyond 2024. She has previously made astute trades, such as divesting over $1.5 million worth of stock in Google's parent company Alphabet a month before the Department of Justice announced an antitrust lawsuit against the tech behemoth.
However, Pelosi's investment activities have not been without controversy. Republican Missouri Senator Josh Hawley introduced the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act in January 2023, which sought to ban members of Congress from trading stocks. Hawley criticized Washington politicians for exploiting the economic system they regulate, accusing them of profiting at the expense of the American people.
Despite facing accusations of insider trading, Pelosi has defended her actions and even backed the 2023-2024 Ending Trading and Holdings in Congressional Stocks (ETHICS) Act after dropping her opposition to a stock trading ban ahead of the 2022 midterm. The former speaker's financial performance, while impressive, raises questions about the appropriateness of politicians' involvement in stock trading, a debate that is likely to continue.
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