Moonlighting under the name Roaring Kitty, Keith Gill became something of an online folk hero for his dedication to GameStop, the struggling video game retailer at the center of a trading frenzy that sent its share price into the stratosphere.
But now William Galvin, the Massachusetts secretary of the commonwealth, wants to know more about Gill, a registered securities broker, and his former day job as a financial wellness education director at an insurance company based in Boston.
Inspired in part by Gill’s cheerleading, thousands of small investors pushed stock in GameStop to as high as $483 a share and made Gill fabulously rich on paper. A picture he posted last week on the Reddit WallStreetBets forum showed his GameStop investment was worth $48 million, though his actual returns could not be independently verified.
Tuesday, February 2, 2021
GameStop, a company described on January 26, 2021, in the
Wall Street Journal as a “moribund mall retailer” that sold electronic games, but not very many with the closing of malls as a result of the growth of e-commerce, and even fewer after the shutdowns of non-essential shopping stores due to COVID, has seen its stock (listed on the New York Stock Exchange) share price rise in the last year from a low of $2.57 to $483.00. Almost all of that gain has occurred since Friday, January 22, 2021. What business development caused this? The simple answer to that question is NONE.
Rupture Rapture
Before he was shaking up the investment world and causing anger on Wall Street, the only number Keith Gill was interested in was his mile time. The avid runner, who attracted national attention for his athletic ability, had to give it all up when an injury put an end to his aspirations. No matter, he turned his interests to investing. Over the past week, Gill – who is also known as ‘Roaring Kitty’ on his YouTube channel – has become a millionaire after finding himself at the centre of a story that will have Wall Street shaking its head for many years to come.
Meet the man who shone a light on GameStop – an American gaming retailer – after leading an army of online followers, in an unprecedented rally that saw many make their fortunes. Speaking to The Wall Street Journal, Keith Gill says he didn’t intend on receiving all this attention – especially from the Federal Reserve, Congress and thousands of investors. Below, The Wall Street Journal documents this remarkable story.
– Jarryd Neves
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Meet Keith Gill, the man who drove the GameStop Reddit mania and made millions orlandosentinel.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from orlandosentinel.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.