ueled by a massive short squeeze pinning Reddit traders against a storied Wall Street short-seller, a mindblowing rally in GameStop shares has minted a new billionaire in Ryan Cohen, an activist investor eager to forge a turnaround for the brick-and-mortar gameseller.
"Unfortunately, it is evident that GameStop currently lacks the mindset, resources and plan needed to become a dominant sector player," Cohen said in ato GameStop's board of directors in November, blasting the stock's dismal performance at the time—it was down 85% over the prior five years.
It’s unlikely that Cohen, or anyone for that matter, could have predicted what would play out over the next couple of months. GameStop shares are up more than 800% since his declaration, and the value of Cohen's stake has skyrocketed to about $825 million. Tack that onto the proceeds Cohen received from PetSmart's $3.4 billion acquisition of Chewy in 2017, andestimates the 35-year-old is worth about $1 billion.
Given how volatile GameStop stock has been, it’s not clear how long Cohen will hold onto his billionaire status. But, for now, GameStop keeps climbing. Shares are up a staggering 25% as of 12 p.m. Tuesday, after climbing 20% Monday. Analysts areto a surge in interest from retail investors, which has in turn fueled a short squeeze.
Retail traders, meanwhile, have lauded Cohen's involvement, with Reddit discussion boards including r/WallStreetBets revealing a slew of bullish at-home traders driving up the stock's price despite
think he was likely already a billionaire, but who's counting.
wonder for how long 'billionaire'.. only until there won't be a major signal on reddit to sell 😅