Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D-California) and her husband, venture capitalist Paul Pelosi, saw their wealth surge in 2024 by as much as $42.5 million, according to newly released financial disclosures—drawing fresh scrutiny over whether members of Congress should be allowed to trade stocks at all.

The couple’s estimated net worth, based on the broad ranges required by congressional reporting, could now exceed $413 million, making Pelosi one of the wealthiest lawmakers on Capitol Hill. The former House Speaker’s explosive financial growth has reignited accusations that lawmakers may be profiting from privileged access to non-public, market-moving information.

The data, analyzed by Quiver Quantitative, shows a portfolio return of approximately 54% in 2024, more than double the S&P 500’s 25% and outperforming every major hedge fund, including titans like Citadel and Bridgewater Associates.

At the center of the conversation is a series of impeccably timed trades.

In July, the Pelosis dumped 5,000 shares of Microsoft stock—worth about $2.2 million—just months before the Federal Trade Commission announced a formal antitrust investigation into the tech behemoth. Around the same time, they sold 2,000 shares of Visa, valued at an estimated $525,000, ahead of a Department of Justice lawsuit alleging monopoly practices in the credit card industry.

But perhaps the most eye-catching trade was in artificial intelligence juggernaut NVIDIA. In late 2023, the Pelosis spent an estimated $2.4 million on call options to purchase 50,000 shares of NVIDIA at just $12 a share—a fraction of its market price. By the end of 2024, that investment was worth more than $7.2 million on paper.

“These are not average trades,” said Alex Poole, a corporate governance analyst at Transparency Capital. “These are multi-million dollar options timed within weeks or months of major federal announcements. The optics are damning.”

The Pelosis also purchased call options on cybersecurity firm Palo Alto Networks in February—the same week the White House privately briefed lawmakers on a national security threat involving Russia. The company’s stock rose 20% in the days after. That investment, estimated between $600,000 and $1.25 million, is now valued at nearly $3 million.

Nancy Pelosi, 84, has repeatedly denied wrongdoing and has stated she does not personally handle any of the trades. “Speaker Pelosi does not own any stocks, and she has no prior knowledge or subsequent involvement in any transactions,” a spokesperson told The Post. All trading, they said, is done by her husband.

Despite the defenses, Pelosi’s fortunes have become symbolic of a larger ethical dilemma in Congress. A bipartisan coalition—led by Senators Josh Hawley (R-MO) and Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY)—has reintroduced legislation to ban members of Congress and their spouses from trading individual stocks while in office. In a not-so-subtle swipe, they’ve nicknamed it “The PELOSI Act.”

In previous years, Pelosi strongly opposed such bans, declaring, “We’re a free-market economy. They should be able to participate.” But with mounting pressure from both sides of the aisle and from watchdog groups, her tone has shifted. When asked about a possible ban in May, she said: “If they do, they do.”

The Pelosis did see some losses in 2024. They reportedly sold 2,500 shares of Tesla in June, taking a hit estimated between $100,000 and $1 million. But the overall performance of their portfolio still dwarfed those losses.

So far in 2025, they’ve already made bold moves—taking options in AI-health company Tempus AI (which doubled after a $200M deal with AstraZeneca) and betting on energy company Vistra just before it acquired natural gas assets worth $1.9 billion.

Ethics experts say Pelosi’s pattern of activity highlights why tighter regulations are overdue.

“It’s not about whether Pelosi is technically breaking the law—it’s about the public’s trust,” said Noah Bookbinder of Citizens for Responsibility and Ethics in Washington. “The fact that lawmakers are allowed to buy and sell stocks in companies they help regulate is corrosive to democracy.”

As the public wrestles with inflation, housing costs, and market volatility, the image of lawmakers raking in millions has become a potent political liability.

“If you’re beating every hedge fund in America while shaping the rules that govern the market,” said Poole, “it’s not just a conflict of interest. It’s a crisis of confidence.”

For now, Pelosi’s defenders call it savvy investing. Critics call it insider privilege. And the American people? They’re watching closely.