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Meet The 17-Year-Old High School Junior Who Made $72 Million Trading Penny Stocks. Allegedly
Update: it appears our bemused skepticism was well-founded. Moments ago that paragon of honesty, CNBC itself, chimed in and reported that following a conversation with Mohammed, the 17 year old admitted he made nowhere near that amount. To wit: "That story is being widely disputed and I can tell you that I just spoke with the gentleman right here at CNBC HQ, he told me the $72 million figure is not true, they do not know where it came from. They said "the attention" is not what we expected. We never wanted the hype." More here.
Too late Mohammed, the IRS is already knocking and asking for their $36 million cut.
And here is some more damage control from the "Leaders Investment Club":
It has been brought to the attention of the Leaders Investment Club that Mohammed Islam has been rumored to have made $72,000,000 through making trades in the stock market. After performing due diligence and talking with Mohammed Islam himself, we have determined that these claims are false and simply been blown up by the media in the interests of sensationalism. We hold all our members to exacting moral and investing standards, and ask Mohammed Islam to clear up all misinformation surrounding his claims, misconstrued or otherwise. The goal of Leaders Investment Club is to promote the financial education of Millennials, and we disavow affiliation with members who fail to promote accurate and transparent information.
Sincerely,
The Leaders Investment Club Community
* * *
It never fails: every year we get a story of that one individual who, as simple survivorship bias would suggest, made a killing in the same market where 999,999 others lost (you won't ever read about them though). This year that someone is a 17-year-old from Queens who, according to rumors at Styuvesant High School in NYC where he is a junior, made $72 million by trading pennystocks, oil and gold.
Meet Mohammed Islam, who as the photo below shows, is like most other high school kids:
... with a few exceptions: he rents a Manhattan apartment, drives a BMW. And eats caviar and apple juice. Allegedly.
Who is Mohammed? The son of immigrants from the South Asian region of Bengal, Islam began dabbling in penny stocks at age 9. After suffering an early setback that cost him some money he made tutoring, he started reading up on modern finance, and hedge-fund managers in particular. He takes as his inspiration Paul Tudor Jones.
Most importantly, he is 'a VIP!' because remember: when one wants to be successful, one must first exude, dress, rent and eat "success." Or at least what journos think passes for success these days. Such as this one:
As the news spread, Mo’s stock went up. The school paper profiled him, Business Insider included him on a list of “20 Under 20,” and Mo became “a celebrity,” as his friend Damir Tulemaganbetov put it on a recent Friday night at Mari Vanna near Union Square. “A VIP!”
Mo, a cherubic senior with a goatee and slight faux-hawk, smiled shyly. “He’s quiet today,” said Patrick Trablusi, who was seated with Mo and Damir at a table littered with empty glasses. “Humble.” And tired: “This is our third meeting of the day,” Damir said, signaling to the waitress for another round. “We saw a real-estate agent, a lawyer, you …”
“Next we’re going to see a hedge-fund guy,” Patrick said. The friends locked eyes and started to giggle.
Why? "He basically wants to give us $150 million,” Mo explained, a blush like a sunset creeping over his cheeks.
Wait, so there is your typical trading "superstar" with unaudited returns, who attracts attention just because of his ostentatious behavior and "glamorous" spending habits, who like Kim Kardashian is famous "because he is famous", and immediately the "smartest money in the room" lines up to give him even more money?
Certainly sounds "credible" and if not, then P.T. Barnum was a wise man indeed.
So what is Mo's actual net worth? Short answer: nobody actually knows.
Though he is shy about the $72 million number, he confirmed his net worth is in the “high eight figures.” More than enough to rent an apartment in Manhattan—though his parents won’t let him live in it until he turns 18—and acquire a BMW, which he can’t drive because he doesn’t yet have a license. Thus, it falls to his father to drive him past Tudor Jones’s Greenwich house for inspiration. “It’s because he is who he is that made me who I am today,” Mo said.
Sure, why not. So with high school almost behind him, what are his plans that fit with his world-domination narrative?
Over late nights out and dinners at Morimoto, the three hatched a plan to start a hedge fund. “There are a lot of steps we have to follow through,” said Patrick, calling to mind a more serious Chuck Bass. “But we’re on the right track.” They plan to launch in June, after Mo turns 18 and can get his broker-dealer license. “Mo’s our maestro,” Patrick said. “He’s going to be earning the big bucks. We’re just going to try to fill his needs.”
All three plan to attend college next year, but they’re not concerned about classes getting in the way of their goal: “A billion dollars!” Damir said. “By next year!” Mo affirmed the number with a nod. “But it’s not just about money,” he added. “We want to create a brotherhood. Like, all of us who are connected, who are in something together, who have influence, like the Koch brothers …”
Ridiculous trading returns aside, if a "brotherhood" is what you want then Goldman will surely hire you for your stupendous marketing and self-promotional skills alone. Goldman's decision will be further facilitated by Mo's ideology on money life :
... it falls to his father to drive him past Tudor Jones’s Greenwich house for inspiration. “It’s because he is who he is that made me who I am today,” Mo said.
Which is to say: a believer in Wall Street. “A lot of young people do start-ups, but I think it’s a bubble. Trading and investments will always be there. Money will always be rotating—”
“Money never sleeps!” Damir added. “That’s from the Wall Street movie.” “It all comes down to this,” Mo continued. “What makes the world go round? Money. If money is not flowing, if businesses don’t keep going, there’s no innovation, no products, no investments, no growth, no jobs.”
The check arrived for the caviar and apple juice. It totaled $400. “New York, that’s where the money’s at,” Damir shouted, pulling out a credit card.
This reminded me of an old joke about robbing banks because that’s where the money is. Damir grinned. “My father has a quote,” he said. “It’s really dope: ‘You can rob a bank with a gun, but you can rob the whole world with a bank.’ ”
Failing that, you can just take the money of a few gullible investors who desperately want to believe that that fleeting Wall Street success story is still possible and that a 17 year old can beat Wall Street at its own game. And remember: all one needs to appear on CNBC these days is a business suit and to speak with confidence.
As for everyone else, feel free to click on the NY Mag's story about the young "multi-millionaire" - after all that was the whole point.
And failing that, read the story of everyone's favorite mega-spending FX-trading superstar, Alex Hope: "Superstar FX Trader Whiz-kid Nothing But A Superspending Ponzi Fraud" who, as most "successful" investment managers exuding "success" burned "through £2 million in the 13 months before his arrest in early 2012."
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Son of Sheik Yerbouti.
Wonder what religion he is?
Sounds Italian to me.
Sounds like there are some bitter doom traders pissed you don't need a degree in finance to BTFATH....
It happens. Dr. Michael Burry, Steve Eisman, James Mai and Charlie Ledley. Heck... Benjamin Graham.
OR NOT! :-) Kid just made it up? :-)
How does this 4 foot tall foreign carpetbagger get away with coming from a "region" and not an actual country??
Either he is from India or Pakistan. Which is it?
BTW, we live in 12/2014, does anyone know his address?
He just shorted the Lindt share on ASX200.
Insider trading???
Don't know, but the guy who made the hostage at the Lindt cafe was know from authorities from long time and was already condemned for other crimes...
The real question is why he was not on a watch-list ? But this event give momentum for the neo-con mind.
Maybe he can get with the FX whiz kid who last year spent $280,000 in a London club and ZH had a copy of the receipt; oh wait .... that guy went broke and got fired. Everybody's a genius, until .....
www.traderzoo.mobi
Worse than that he got arrested and will be in Court soon.
What they missed off was the date as after a bout of hypering, hyperrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrinflation $72M is like a cup of coffee
That's because he bought stawks instead of paying down his student loan you idiots
And then his uncle from the Middle East died and left him 72 million :)
One for each virgin when he dies.
Fucking beards. It seems like everyone with a beard, not including Santa Clause, is pure evil.
Looks like a terrorist.
not true? that's just too bad, sounded like such a lovely money-laundering story. 19 mules lose it all but since money's free what matters is the 20th with what's now clean.
VIX OVER 23%
RUMOUR HAS IT ANOTHER BIG US BANK IN TROUBLE
Hoping it's BofA (currently in litigation with them) and not Barclay's (they just offered me 0% interest on money until June 2016.
I had to look at it twice. June 2016. It's not even 2015 yet and they think this Ponzi is going to last another 18 months?
I am going to take the money, though. It's not everyday you can get 0% interest - and it's on balance transfers or I can even write a check to myself (if I do that, do I have to report it as income?).
Never thought I'd see the day that I could pay down (and almost off) my Home equity line of Credit from a CU with 0% interest CCs from major banks, but that day has apparently arrived.
WTF?
He should play Assassin's Creed: Black Flag. It's actually less fun than having your head cut off.
I don't understand how this made the news. That article contains no verification of any claim. In addition he said that when he was learning he lost thousands of dollars several times before he finally started making money. What high school student (or 9-year-old) has thousands of dollars to lose on daytrading? Nowehere is it mentioned how much money he started with or what his returns are like in annualized or percent terms. The whole thing reads like a poor person's idea of how the rich make money.
I give my kids $10k per week allowance.
- J Corzine
p.s. It's not my money.
Juggalo, allow me to explain how this made the news (almost).
First, this is TV news, which is just a grade above Archie comics and slightly below your local Pennysaver, so, they don't actually verify ANYTHING. Not since 9/11, anyway, which is how they roll, drift, right?
Somebody must have tweeted this guy up massively, so that one of the interns at CNN got wind of it and passed it along to their Propaganda, er, editor. The editor, him or herself probably all of 27 years old, figured it would be easier to run this story and get the attention of the big wigs than having to blow one of them (or all of them) in order to get a raise or promotion.
Then, since, it was such a busy news day (ask anyone at CNBS), every other nit-work had to pick up on it because the kid was not only a kid in high school - and you know how massively misunderstood they are - but a Muslim, and we are supposed to bend over ass-backwards for anyone even associated with Islam in any minute way, because, well, diversity, ya know.
So, in a nutshell, actual news died about 20 to 30 years ago (I know, I'm a recovering newspaper publisher) and anything to make anybody feel good, or better, or just not fucking shitty all over, gets the nod for the day. And, like eric Cartman's money at the bank... and, it's gone. Poof. News cycle meets American attention span, giving us, ta-da, Twitter.
Fuck if I know.
it's funny but on the CBS Morning News (national show), Nora O'Donnell introduced some news headlines by saying, "And now here's some REAL news you can use." I'm sure a slam at her competitors, but truly CBS does not use nearly as much fluff pieces as ABC and NBC.
Excellent. Like the avatar, too. There's a whole stupid people's section of U-Tube with the free energy magnet motors on it; but maybe you noticed this ? I was amazed, and appalled.
Someone called Mohammed Islam lying to the kuffar?
No way....
Cathy Catholic, Peter Protestant, Bobby Baptist, Helen Hindu, and Belinda Buddha were just being kids and missed out on the money. Arnie Atheist never believed in any of them.
This is one of these moments where I would love to give 1,000 up votes. I totally lost it at "Arnie Atheist". Love it. Totally love your humour.
Mah name is Otto
I like to play the Lotto
Pro Tip # 21: Take a fist-sized piece of Christmas wrapping paper and spray one little burst of Azzaro Chrome onto it. Let it rest, then wad it up and place it in your jeans, your jacket, your ironic hoodie hood and even your outdoor hat. Wear no more cologne than that, you disgusting whore-smellers.
Happy new year!
While most of these claims are bogus, I have read of verified accounts of young teens making a mint in penny stocks. It was only verified because the government took all the money back after it was revealed they were involved in illegal pump & dump schemes touting various penny stocks on financial websites.
Just damn...
I need to rethink my plans.
I was about to begin making $9,529, working just 3 hours per day on my laptop. This guy seems to have a better money making strategy!
look him pumping his chest
..."all one needs to appear on CNBC these days is a business suit [a Donald Trump Signature Collection Men's Blue Two-tone shirt] and to speak with confidence."
News from the future - ten years from now:
December 15, 2024: CNBC is pleased to announce that Mohammed Islam has been named to replace the retiring Jim Cramer on our long running Mad Money show!
The best part of this post is that the comments were hilarious!
I haven't laugh so hard in a long time.
These stories are BS the system is trying to lure idiots into the market with sensational made up bs stories.
They are doing everything they can to lure suckers into the market
Next will be a story about some rural people that hit it big in stocks and moved to Beverly; Hills that is...
Wow just Wow... the cops are really covering it up... Jessica Chambers murdered and gang raped and set on fire
https://twitter.com/0Hour1/with_replies
Their is pure evil out there.
So you have to call them on their bullshit and lies to get them to admit it? The USA's great trustworthy fourth estate. More like lying traitors out to maintain the illusion and destroy freedom
Well you can't say this piece of shit below didn't warn you
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cCvrJSBVfnI
I haven't heard Barry cop to his awareness of this yet. He's got more important things to do like play golf and destroy your country
SHUT UP AND TAKE MY MONEY!!!
Mohammed Islam?
The name tells you it's shit. ZH islamic Nazis tough like hating the Jews and kiss MUSLIM ASSES, so they would like to believe the story.
Mo-Hamed-Islam-Ibad-Isis-AlCIAeeda.
Stop taking the right fucking piss out of peoples sensiblities NSA, and you child molesting, or child protecting molesters from GCHQ.
You think us wankers watching you from the side lines are took in by this and the air space shut down in Sydney over a bloke with a gun? You lot of fucking idiot cunts, think us lot of idiot cunts cunts wont notice?????
Thicker by far than even Mixy thought.
Why total lock down in Sydney? For a bloke with a gun, and you diverted the planes flying at fuck knows how many feet? You think you be impressing someone here boys? You are not, you are fucking us off, because we dont believe the fucking utter shit you be spouting.
Divert air traffic over a bloke with a gun?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????
Now that is taking not just the fucking piss. You are now taking liablities with my vital functions.
Cunts. To a dressed up warrior man cunt imbecile.
:-0
I believe it. Statistically a monkey, if there were enough of them, could do the same.
He's just like you and me....except he's better than you and me. Why? Because he has $72 million from scamming other people out of their money....
I have own a BMW but I can't show it to you because I don't have a license and an apartment as well but my parents say I can't go there.
BMW? Don't these people drive Audis now?
... and I've made billions flipping houses from my bedroom in my PJs never even leaving my house ....
... and so on ...
Awww
Just Mohd. Is on the Lam
Setting the markets on fire
http://www.reddit.com/r/investing/comments/2pdyhp/highschooler_worth_72_...
And some people made even more than this kid, because they they were "really good" at picking winning numbers in the lottery
Inquiries are being forwarded to his accountant, Moses Judaism.
Now you just made yourself a tarjay...
I have to admit that's one heck of a Sears wardrobe he's sporting.
"he told me the $72 million figure is not true, they do not know where it came from."
Notice he doesn't tell us what the real fucking number is.
that is one hairy 17 year old
he could pass for 30 in my neighbourhood, and would probably be considered 45 in east Asia
If those fella are gonna fill mo's needs then they better use that credit card on some high quality kneepads
I knew this was bullshit. Impossible for a 17 year old alone to make trades legally. My first stock trades were at 16 and it was a bitch to have to have one parent approve of every trade under the UGMA.
I figured that article was about play trades and didn't bother to read it.