Rep. Ro Khanna, a Democrat from California's 17th district, filed a 2025 financial disclosure that shows trusts controlled by his wife and children made 5,402 trades during 244 of the year's 251 market days, moving roughly $165 million in stocks, options, exchange‑traded funds and hedge‑fund positions.
The filing, submitted late last week, lists $70.6 million in sales of securities and a total trading volume that eclipses the $137.2 million Khanna reported for 2024, when his family logged 4,665 trades. The surge coincided with a 17.9 percent rise in the S&P 500, a return that outperformed most benchmarks.
Khanna's disclosure also places his personal net‑worth estimate between $69 million and $167 million for 2025, a range that overlaps the $99 million to $315 million bracket he reported for 2024. The wide intervals reflect the way members of Congress are allowed to value assets, often providing only minimum and maximum figures.
Under the Ethics in Government Act, House members must file annual reports of assets, liabilities and transactions. The law requires reporting of any trade exceeding $1,000, but it permits broad valuation ranges and does not demand real‑time updates. Critics argue that the system lets lawmakers obscure the true scale of their holdings, a point highlighted by Khanna's own claim that he has "zero say" and "zero knowledge" of the trades managed by his in‑laws' trusts.
Khanna entered Congress in 2017 with a declared net worth of $29 million to $78 million. The bulk of his wealth traces back to his father‑in‑law, Monte Ahuja, an Ohio auto‑parts magnate whose fortune is held in a series of irrevocable trusts that benefit Khanna's wife, Ritu Ahuja Khanna, and their two children. Those trusts generate substantial passive income; the 2025 filing shows $10.8 million in dividends and business distributions.
While the congressman's salary has been frozen at $174,000 since 2008, the dividend stream and capital gains from the trusts provide a level of income that dwarfs his congressional pay. The Washington Free Beacon reported that the trusts own stakes in three private golf clubs in Ohio, each charging initiation fees above $45,000, and that those clubs produced more than $2 million in unearned income for the children in 2025.
In addition to the golf clubs, the children's trusts hold a sizable position in a $65 billion wealth‑management firm and investments in hedge funds that focus on distressed debt, areas that Khanna has publicly criticized. The juxtaposition of his policy rhetoric and personal financial exposure has drawn scrutiny from both opponents and watchdog groups.
Khanna is using his platform to promote a California ballot initiative that would levy a 5 percent wealth tax on billionaires. The proposal includes a provision allowing cash‑poor ultra‑wealthy individuals to satisfy the tax by pledging shares of their companies to the state for ten years, after which the state could seize the shares if the loan is not repaid.
The idea has provoked a sharp response from the business community. Billionaire Mark Cuban described the plan as "the biggest fuck you in the history of entrepreneurship," warning that it could drive companies out of the state. Over the past year, several high‑net‑worth Californians have relocated to Florida or Texas, citing the prospect of new taxes as a factor.
Khanna's advocacy for the wealth tax comes as he tours the nation speaking about "taxing the billionaires" and the "cost of living" crisis. The timing aligns with speculation that he may consider a presidential bid in 2028, a move that would place his financial record under even greater national scrutiny.
For American voters, the case raises broader questions about how elected officials manage personal wealth while shaping tax policy. The House Ethics Committee has considered reforms that would require more frequent reporting of trades and tighter limits on holdings, but no legislation has yet passed.
Canadian observers note that similar debates are unfolding in Ottawa, where members of Parliament also file annual asset disclosures but face calls for stricter transparency after several high‑profile scandals. The cross‑border nature of investment markets means that any change in U.S. disclosure rules could influence Canadian policy discussions, especially as investors in both countries navigate the same stock exchanges.
Khanna's family is also in the process of upgrading its primary residence. The Free Beacon reported that the congressman is selling a $6 million, 8,000‑square‑foot home in Washington, D.C., and preparing to move into a $9 million custom‑built house in Northern Virginia. In 2024, Ritu Ahuja Khanna purchased a $190,000 Range Rover, a price that exceeds Khanna's annual salary, and later settled a lawsuit alleging the vehicle was a lemon.
Charitable giving by the Khannas appears modest in comparison to the scale of their assets. Tax filings show that Ritu Ahuja Khanna contributed $386,000 to her father's private foundation in 2024, which in turn donated $20,000 to an elite private school in McLean, Virginia, where the Khanna children are enrolled. No larger philanthropic initiatives were disclosed.
When asked for comment, Khanna's office declined to provide an on‑record response. The disclosure, however, adds another chapter to the ongoing debate over whether members of Congress should be allowed to hold and trade substantial private wealth while crafting legislation that could affect those very markets.