META Heads to Trial by Judge Who Invests in Their "Competition"
Roughly 30% of Judge Boasberg's Investment Portfolio is in Microsoft
Meta Platform Inc.’s (Facebook) antitrust case started this week in Washington, D.C., and is expected to last weeks.
The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) is seeking to breakup Meta and force the divestiture of assets like Instagram and WhatsApp. The outcome of this case will have major effects on the tech and social media landscapes, and numerous Meta competitors like Snap, Pinterest, TikTok, etc. are expected to testify in the trial.
Judge “Jeb” Boasberg will oversee and rule on the “bench” case — no jury.
President Donald Trump met recently with defendant — Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who reportedly sought the president’s help in settling the case.
As for the plaintiffs, the FTC currently only has three members out of its usual five — all Republicans: chair Andrew N. Ferguson and Melissa Holyoak were both initially appointed in 2023 under the Biden administration, while Trump’s newest appointee, Mark Meador, was confirmed just last week.
Trump last month fired the only two Democratic commissioners, Rebecca Slaughter and Alvaro Bedoya, who have since sued the Trump administration over the potentially illegal move. In 1935, the Supreme Court ruled that President Franklin Delano Roosevelt’s firing of an FTC Commissioner on policy grounds was unjustified.
So, what is in this edition? Since Hunter Index is the most complete and robust database of U.S. politicians’ personal finances, we can offer you a look into the players in the case and any financial stakes they have in companies that could be affected by the decision.
Judge Boasberg’s Washington Background
Chief Judge James E. “Jeb” Boasberg of the U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia will preside and rule over the trial which has no jury. Boasberg has a long career of various court appointments. He was first nominated by President George W. Bush in 2002 to a D.C.-based Superior Court position and was confirmed by a voice vote by the Senate.
In 2011, President Barack Obama nominated Boasberg to his current federal bench position, and the Senate voted to confirm his nomination 96-0.
The native Washingtonian and St. Albans, Yale and Oxford alumnus previously served as an assistant U.S. attorney and had a brief stint in a private firm in San Francisco.
Boasberg recently considered holding Trump administration officials in contempt of court over their policies deporting hundreds of people to El Salvador.
Texas Republican Rep. Brandon Gill — son-in-law of conservative commentator Dinesh D'Souza — introduced a resolution to impeach Judge Boasberg last month after President Trump expressed disdain for the judge’s efforts to block his deportation efforts.
Boasberg’s Assets
In his annual report submitted in May 2024, Judge Boasberg did not report owning any Meta, Inc. assets. However, he does own stakes in several other tech companies who could benefit from a potential breakup of Meta.
In his various trusts and brokerage accounts, Boasberg reported owning between $2.1 million - $4.2 million in Microsoft assets that generated $10k to $23k in income in one year. His Microsoft holdings make up about 18% of his total portfolio’s value. When you remove his two rental properties in D.C. and Maine, the judge’s Microsoft holdings are worth about 30% of his remaining assets.
The judge also owned between $250k to $600k of Google assets.
Judge Boasberg’s annual salary is roughly $247k, according to the Federal Judicial Center.
In his annual report, the D.C.-based judge reported between $84k and $238k in income derived from his portfolio, which was worth between $11.1 million and $22.9 million.
Judge Boasberg did not report owning any liabilities or any assets held or income earned by his wife.
President Trump’s Financial Ties with Meta
Based on his latest financial disclosure, President Trump directly owns at least one Meta asset worth between $15k and $50k.
In January, Meta agreed to pay President Trump $25 million in as settlement over his past suspensions on their Facebook and Instagram platforms.
Last year, Meta CEO Zuckerberg donated $1 million to Trump’s inauguration fund — an early signal of the growing relationship between the two that’s raised concerns about whether Trump might intervene in the antitrust case on Meta’s behalf.
Other Notables’ Assets
FTC chair Ferguson did not report any direct ownership of any corporate assets like company stocks. Most of Ferguson’s reported assets were held in Vanguard or BlackRock target-date funds within his defined contribution plan retirement accounts.
FTC commissioner Holyoak did not report directly owning any corporate investments. Like Ferguson’s, most of Holyoak’s reported assets were held in index or target-date funds.
Representatives of President Trump and Judge Boasberg have not responded to requests for comment as of time of publication.
Why Does It Matter?
Please be informed of your politicians’ personal finances.
That’s our goal at the Hunter Index. We believe it is important for constituents to understand how their government officials’ personal finances may affect their policy making decisions as well as understanding the potential wide disparity between their wealth and that of the people in their home state or district.
Remember our favorite questions: Would you make a decision that costs your family money for the public good? Isn’t that what we ask of our government officials?
Managing Hunter Index and its exclusive database which makes reporting like this article possible is extremely expensive and labor intensive. Hunter Index reviewed the judge’s financial disclosure information for the past five years during the reporting of this article.
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