President Donald Trump’s administration is reviewing a blockbuster media merger that would deliver CNN, HBO, and a large slice of cable television to a group of his political allies. A financial disclosure filed late Friday shows that Trump himself bought between $500,001 and $1 million in Warner Bros. Discovery bonds on September 19, 2025, giving him a personal financial interest in the company whose future depends on decisions made by his own administration.
The bonds are 3.625% senior unsecured notes issued by Discovery Communications LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Warner Bros. Discovery. Issued in May 2020 with a maturity date of May 15, 2030, the bonds are fully guaranteed by the parent company and are senior debt—meaning bondholders get paid ahead of shareholders in any restructuring—but are unsecured, with no specific assets pledged as collateral.
The purchase came eight days after the first reports that David Ellison’s Paramount Skydance, backed by his father (Oracle billionaire and Trump ally Larry Ellison), was preparing a bid for all of Warner Bros. Discovery. Six days later, on September 25, Trump signed an executive order that made Oracle the official security provider of TikTok’s user data, a move that bolstered the Ellison family’s position in the media talks.
People familiar with the matter have told the New York Post and other outlets that Trump has privately signaled strong support for a Paramount Skydance takeover of Warner Bros. Discovery and that competitors would face stiff resistance from his administration’s regulators. According to CNN, Ellison’s allies are “privately arguing that he is the only buyer who would pass muster with Trump administration regulators.”
