Trump approved Nvidia China chip sales amid spy warning, $25M donation; his Nvidia stock purchases

President Donald Trump's accounts bought up to US$1 million of Nvidia shares on 6 January 2026, a week before his administration published the rule letting Nvidia sell its H200 chip in China. The purchase came at the end of a sequence that began in 2025.

Nvidia committed US$25 million to Trump's White House ballroom in October 2025, about three months after Trump lifted a ban on its H20 chip following meetings with Jensen Huang. Nvidia had agreed in August to pay the government 15 per cent of H20 revenue from China.

In October, officials briefed Trump that a businesswoman close to Huang was a suspected Chinese intelligence asset, and he chose not to act. On 8 December he approved H200 sales to China in return for 25 per cent.

Public filings, official statements, and Trump's own remarks record each step. Democratic lawmakers and former export officials have asked whether Nvidia's money and access, or the president's own holdings, shaped decisions treated as national security.

The documents establish the payments, the meetings, and the approvals. They do not establish an agreement linking them, and no official has alleged one.