Former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi and her husband Paul Pelosi amassed more than $130 million in stock profits during her 37 years in Congress — a staggering 16,930% return that has reignited calls to ban lawmakers and their spouses from trading individual stocks while in office.

Pelosi, 85, announced last week that she will retire at the end of her current term in 2027, closing a nearly 40-year political career that began in 1987. But as she prepares to exit public life, financial disclosures and independent analyses are drawing renewed scrutiny to one of the most lucrative personal portfolios in modern political history.

“If anyone else had turned $785,000 into $133 million with better returns than Warren Buffett, they’d be retiring behind bars,” said Kiersten Pels, spokesperson for the Republican National Committee.

When Pelosi first entered Congress, her financial disclosure forms showed less than $800,000 in stock holdings. Today, the couple’s investment portfolio is estimated at $133.7 million, according to Quiver Quantitative — a 14.5% average annual return that has consistently beaten every major U.S. index, including the S&P 500 and the Dow Jones.

Over nearly four decades, the Pelosis’ net worth ballooned from roughly $3 million to $280 million, fueled by positions in high-performing tech giants such as Apple, NVIDIA, Salesforce, and Netflix, as well as a portfolio of real estate, a Napa Valley vineyard valued up to $25 million, and commercial investments around San Francisco.

Even in her final years in office, the former Speaker’s trades raised eyebrows. In 2024, their investment portfolio returned an estimated 54%, more than double the S&P 500’s 25% gain and ahead of every major hedge fund tracked by Bloomberg.

The extraordinary gains have placed Pelosi at the center of a long-running debate over insider trading in Congress, as lawmakers routinely receive market-sensitive intelligence through classified briefings, committee work, and policy negotiations.

Pelosi has repeatedly denied any wrongdoing, emphasizing that her husband manages the couple’s investments independently. But her record-breaking returns — and her use of aggressive options trading — tell another story, and have made her the poster figure for critics of congressional stock trading.

“When you’re supposed to be called an honorable member of Congress, maybe you should look yourself in the mirror and say, I want to do the right thing,” said Dan Weiskopf, portfolio manager of the NANC ETF — a fund that mirrors the stock trades of high-performing members of Congress and is literally named after Pelosi.

Her trading activity has inspired bipartisan legislation. Multiple proposals — including the PELOSI Act, introduced by Sen. Josh Hawley (R-Mo.) — would bar lawmakers and their spouses from owning or trading individual stocks. A newer House version of the bill advanced this fall with rare cross-party support.

Financial disclosures show the Pelosis’ largest position remains Apple stock, valued between $25 million and $50 million. They also hold millions in shares of NVIDIA, a company Pelosi has been accused of profiting from while Congress debated semiconductor legislation.

In one 2023 transaction, Paul Pelosi exercised call options allowing the couple to buy 50,000 NVIDIA shares for $12 each — less than one-tenth of their current value. The investment, worth roughly $7.2 million, netted the couple an estimated $5 million profit on paper.

The timing drew fire from watchdog groups, which noted that Pelosi was then involved in promoting the CHIPS and Science Act, a measure that boosted U.S. semiconductor production and NVIDIA’s market outlook.

The Pelosis’ trades are all conducted in Paul’s name, but the pattern — aggressive options activity in sectors affected by congressional action — has raised persistent questions about the adequacy of ethics rules meant to separate public office from private profit.

While Pelosi’s defenders credit her political acumen and pioneering leadership — she remains the first and only woman ever elected Speaker of the House — critics argue her fortune has become an enduring symbol of Washington’s conflict of interest problem.

The former Speaker and her husband live in a $8.7 million home in San Francisco’s Pacific Heights and maintain a Georgetown residence purchased in 1999. Their Napa Valley estate doubles as a winery producing premium cabernets.

As Congress continues to debate trading restrictions, Pelosi’s name has become synonymous with the issue — appearing on ETFs, Reddit threads, and bipartisan legislation alike.

“Nancy Pelosi’s true legacy is becoming the most successful insider trader in American history,” the RNC’s Pels added.

(YWN World Headquarters – NYC)