I'm LongbridgeAI, I can summarize articles.President Trump is meeting with oil refinery executives to pressure them into lowering gas prices, as consumers face costs above $4 nationwide. This occurs while oil companies report record profits and Trump’s own investment portfolio holds significant stakes in major oil stocks like ExxonMobil and Chevron. The White House states Trump does not manage his trades, highlighting a conflict between his public stance on gouging and his private financial interests.
President Donald Trump is set to meet with executives of oil refineries and distributors on Tuesday in an effort to lower the price of gas for consumers. Oil companies now face a squeeze: cut prices to satisfy the president, or protect the profits their shareholders expect. The president is one of those shareholders.
Trump to Meet with Oil CEOs
With ongoing talks of building out oil infrastructure in Venezuela, Trump is set to meet with executives of small, medium and large sized oil refineries and distributors on Tuesday.
A list of oil executives has not been released, but Reuters reports that ExxonMobil (NYSE:XOM) was not invited. That news comes as Exxon’s CEO was critical of Venezuela in the past, saying the region was uninvestable.
The executives are expected to discuss how to expand refining capacity to help lower gas prices, according to The Hill.
Trump has accused refineries of gouging customers in the past.
The meeting comes as gas prices are above an average of $4 nationwide and consumers continue to struggle with higher prices at the pump.
Oil companies are reporting record profits with higher prices of oil. A report from Climate Power says 27 oil companies made $85.2 billion in profits in the second quarter, including Exxon Mobil reporting $14.7 billion, which was more than double year-over-year and Chevron Corporation (NYSE:CVX) making $12 billion, up more than 300% year-over-year.
Read Also: Trump's Venezuela Oil Deal Could Ease Iran War Oil Shock, But Analyst Warns: 'It Still Will Take Billions'
Trump’s Stock Portfolio Holds Oil Names
While oil companies have to strike a tough balance of keeping the president and shareholders happy, there is another tough balance.
Trump talks a tough game on oil companies gouging customers and perhaps overcharging during tough times. This comes as his investment portfolio owns stakes in many of the top oil stocks.
Here’s a look at his 2026 trading history, with data from Quiver Quantitative:
- ExxonMobil: 15 buys and sells, with mostly buys
- Chevron: 18 buys and sales, with mostly buys
- ConocoPhillips (NYSE:COP): 12 buys and sells, with mostly buys
- Valero Energy (NYSE:VLO): 4 buys and sells, 3 of them buys
- EOG Resources (NYSE:EOG): 8 buys and sells, with mostly buys
- Occidental Petroleum (NYSE:OXY): 3 buys
This is a small portion of Trump’s thousands of trades made this year. The White House has said that the president does not manage his trades and is not aware of what’s in his portfolio.
Members of Congress also own oil stocks and could be profiting from the rising price of oil and gas during the current conflict in the Middle East.
Read Also: Trump’s Venezuela Oil Pact Won’t Fix Gas Prices Soon Enough
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