The NRA Is Selling Off Assets As It Bleeds Cash

Source: Rolling Stone

December 19, 2024


WASHINGTON — The National Rifle Association is liquidating investments as it bleeds cash amid legal turmoil, internal tumult, and dwindling membership revenue, according to an independent audit reviewed by Rolling Stone. In February, the NRA liquidated nearly $17 million worth of stocks and fixed-income assets from its investment portfolio and transferred the money to its operating account, the 38-page audit document, prepared by Atlanta-based accounting firm Aprio, indicates.

Separately, the NRA liquidated $28 million worth of stocks and fixed-income assets from its investment portfolio to pay off a line of credit with Atlantic Union Bank of Virginia. The investment liquidation — $45 million in all — represents more than three-fifths the value of the NRA’s investment portfolio, which stood at more than $72 million at the end of 2023, according to the audit.

Prior to the liquidation, stocks and other equity securities represented the majority of the NRA’s investment portfolio, with fixed income securities accounting for most of the rest. The audit also indicates that total NRA member dues fell from more than $83 million during 2022 to $62 million during 2023. Membership income routinely topped nine figures even a few years ago.

“The NRA is only as strong as its members. Without loyal members, there is no NRA,” the NRA’s chief compliance officer, Robert Mensinger, wrote last month. The nation’s most powerful gun lobby is flagging at a time when it should be ascendant, considering Donald Trump — a staunch gun rights advocate — is returning to the White House with promises of protecting the Second Amendment no matter his opposition.

Read more: https://www.rollingstone.com/politics/politics-features/nra-selling-assets-bleeding-cash-1235211360/