Actually, “day trading” doesn’t effectively convey the magnitude of their financial avarice: Dallas Fed President Robert Kaplan bought and sold S&P futures valued in excess of $1 million. He has 27 holdings exceeding $1 million each. Kaplan was previously Vice Chairman of Goldman Sachs; now he can turn a profit off his own policymaking.
Though Nancy Pelosi might beg to differ, the material and non-public nature of the market-moving information (and decision-making power) a Fed Head is privy to is unrivaled. A Fed President betting on S&P futures is akin to putting it all on black after rigging the roulette table. You’d be barred from Vegas for such behavior. Meanwhile, when Kaplan’s Fed tenure is done the “poor guy” will likely have to settle for collecting millions of dollars in speaking fees and a cushy advisory role for private equity.