Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi outperformed the S&P 500 index by over 280% in 2024, but she still fell behind nine of her congressional colleagues.
Pelosi’s portfolio’s 70.9% increase from Dec. 29, 2023, to Dec. 30, 2024, was nearly triple the S&P 500’s 24.9% return, but it fell well below those of Republican North Carolina Rep. David Rouzer and Democratic Florida Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, who saw returns of 149% and 142.3% — topping the list of members of Congress. Democratic Oregon Sen. Ron Wyden, Republican Texas Rep. Roger Williams and Democratic Kentucky Rep. Morgan McGarvey’s portfolios also saw double-digit increases, rising 123.8%, 111.2% and 105.8% in 2024, respectively, according to financial data platform Unusual Whales’ 2024 Congress Trading Report.
Pelosi’s annual returns also lagged behind those of Republican Reps. Larry Bucshon of Indiana and Pete Sessions of Texas, who saw increases of 98.6% and 95.2%, as well as Republican Maine Sen. Susan Collins and Republican Tennessee Rep. David Kustoff, whose portfolios grew 77.5% and 71.5%, respectively, the trading data showed.
🚨BREAKING🚨
I just released the full report on Congress trading in 2024.
Like every year since 2020, some US politicians beat the market.
From the start of 2024 to year end, many had unusual trades & huge portfolio gains.
Here are the top political traders of 2024. pic.twitter.com/pYIYanF53t
— unusual_whales (@unusual_whales) January 7, 2025
Pelosi’s 2024 rate of return was more than double that of legendary investor Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway, which saw a 27.1% annual return. It also exceeded her 65.5% gain in 2023.
Pelosi’s 2024 holdings included call options — financial contracts that provide buyers with the right to purchase an asset at a predetermined price — in chipmaker Nvidia, which could have brought her a gain of nearly 170%, according to Unusual Whales.
The longtime congresswoman has faced backlash for her investments in the past, with Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley introducing the Preventing Elected Leaders from Owning Securities and Investments (PELOSI) Act in January 2023, which sought to ban members of Congress from trading stocks.
“For too long, politicians in Washington have taken advantage of the economic system they write the rules for, turning profits for themselves at the expense of the American people,” Hawley said in a January 2023 statement announcing the legislation. “As members of Congress, both senators and representatives are tasked with providing oversight of the same companies they invest in, yet they continually buy and sell stocks, outperforming the market time and again.”
Pelosi’s husband Paul, an investment banker, manages her portfolio.
“Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,” a spokesman for Pelosi’s office told the Daily Caller News Foundation.
Featured Image Credit: Office of Nancy Pelosi
