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Nothing but a Jay Thing

As hiring slows and inflation picks up, all of Wall Street’s hopes appear fixed on Jerome Powell, the sphinx-like Fed chairman, whose cryptic pronouncements could determine the fate of this bull market—and, increasingly, the president’s bond portfolio, too.

Jerome Powell
It would be a major scandal if Powell still owned a portfolio of bonds as Fed chairman, but Trump just does whatever the heck he wants, day after day, convention and laws and the Constitution be damned. Photo: Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
William D. Cohan
August 24, 2025

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In the popular narrative, Donald Trump’s economic scheming as president relies on seemingly janky financial plays like his social media company, his memecoin, his Bible, and a recent cell-phone gambit. Most recently, the Trump family’s crypto company, World Liberty Financial, took a large stake in Alt5 Sigma, which will in turn use the proceeds to buy World Liberty’s crypto token. In reality, though, like many Americans, Trump is also investing in the securities of the country’s biggest companies—all while lording over them, of course.