Trump does not own half of Moderna, as posts claim
Trump does not own half of Moderna, as posts claim
(REUTERS) - Moderna, one of the pharmaceutical companies spearheading COVID-19 vaccination efforts in the United States, is not half owned by former president Donald Trump, as posts on social media claim.
One post says, “Trump owns half of Moderna.”
Ray Jordan, Moderna’s Chief Corporate Affairs Officer, told Reuters that “Moderna is a publicly traded U.S. company, and as such, all owners of more than 5% of the company’s shares are required to make filings with the SEC disclosing their ownership.”
Jordan assured “the company is not aware of any significant holdings of Moderna stock at any point in its history by the former president or any of his known affiliates.”
Moderna’s board of directors can be seen and their top management can be seen. Trump is on neither list.
Financial website Investopedia lists Moderna’s top shareholders, with Robert S. Langer, Stéphane Bancel and Noubar B. Afeyan as the top three individual insider shareholders.
International stock market and financial news website MarketScreener similarly does not include Trump in its company stock overview of Moderna.
Trump’s 2021 personal financial disclosure form does not mention Moderna.
Snopes and Check Your Fact found record of only indirect mutual funds connected to Trump with minor investments in Moderna (under 1%) when they debunked this claim.
VERDICT
False. Trump does not own half of Moderna. Moderna also refuted the claim.
