Trump discloses Nvidia stock trades as he prepares to honor CEO Huang

WASHINGTON, Oct 8 : President Donald Trump bought as much as $1.6 million and sold as much as $1 million in Nvidia stock in August, according to his latest financial disclosure, which was released on Thursday as he prepared to award Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang the nation's highest honor for scientific achievement.

The new disclosure of the president's investment in one of the world's most valuable companies comes as his administration weighs policies that could shape Nvidia's fortunes, including rules governing exports of its advanced chips. 

White House spokesperson Davis Ingle said in a statement to Reuters that third-party financial institutions independently manage the president's portfolio and replicate "recognized indexes, such as the Schwab 1000." 

Huang is set to receive the National Medal of Science from Trump on Thursday. The award honors Americans who have made "outstanding contributions to knowledge in the physical, biological, mathematical, engineering, or social and behavioral sciences, in service to the nation," according to the National Science Foundation's website.

Past recipients have been honored for advances ranging from cancer detection to protecting the food supply during droughts.

The Nvidia trades were one of hundreds the president made in August, according to the disclosure signed by the president on September 17 and made public on Thursday. 

"All investment decisions are made entirely by independent managers," Ingle said. "There are no conflicts of interest.”

Trump is also set to give the same award to SpaceX CEO Elon Musk and Google co-founder Sergey Brin on Thursday. 

Nvidia's spokesperson did not immediately respond to a request for comment.