Trump Invests Millions in Sushi Chain — But Won’t Eat Raw Fish
President Trump has made multi-million dollar investments in a rotating sushi bar restaurant chain, which is notable for one specific reason — he is on record saying he wouldn't "eat any raw fish."
Trump invested between $1 million and $5 million in Kura Sushi Inc., an Irvine, California-based chain with 88 US locations and more than 650 restaurants worldwide. The concept is a revolving conveyor belt restaurant where diners grab dishes as they float past — a format that leans heavily on sushi and other Japanese food items that Trump has historically avoided.
His aversion to raw fish goes back at least to a 1990 visit to Japan, documented in the 1993 book Lost Tycoon, in which author Harry Hurt III wrote that Trump refused to eat any raw fish during the trip. On a 2017 state visit to Japan with then-Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, Trump and Abe reportedly had hamburgers for lunch and Wagyu beef, scallops, and lobster for dinner. No sushi.
The man will invest in it though.
The Bigger Financial Picture
Kura Sushi was just one item in a much larger batch of financial disclosures released this week. Trump's total transactions in the first quarter of 2026 ranged from $220 million to approximately $750 million, according to filings with the U.S. Office of Government Ethics.
His investments during the period included between $1 million and $5 million each in Amazon, Apple, Microsoft, and Nvidia — some of the most powerful companies in the world, several of which are directly affected by federal policy decisions made by his administration. He also reported large sales of Amazon, Microsoft, and Meta investments valued between $5 million and $25 million each.
The restaurant investments were more varied. Beyond Kura Sushi, Trump picked up between $500,000 and $1 million in Chipotle, $250,000 to $500,000 in Domino's Pizza, and $50,000 to $100,000 in Starbucks. For a man who has repeatedly said Americans should be eating hamburgers at conference tables instead of attending fancy state dinners, the portfolio is at least thematically consistent — fast food, casual dining, accessible chains.
The Conflict Question
Democrats and ethics advocates have raised concerns about Trump trading in companies whose fortunes can be directly influenced by presidential decisions — tariffs, regulations, federal contracts, and antitrust enforcement all have real effects on companies like Amazon, Apple, Nvidia, and Microsoft.
The Trump Organization's response is that his accounts are managed entirely by third-party financial institutions with no input from Trump or his family.
Whether that arrangement satisfies critics is a different question. The disclosures are required by law and the transactions are now public. What people make of a sitting president holding between $220 million and $750 million in stock transactions in a single quarter — in companies his administration regulates — tends to depend on who you ask.
He still won't eat the sushi though.
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