New York schoolboy who made $72MILLION trading stocks on his lunch breaks - and now takes his friends out to dine on $400 caviar, drives a BMW and has definitely made his immigrant parents proud
Mohammed Islam, 17, started dabbling in penny stocks at the age of nine
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[size=1.4em]He trades stocks on lunch breaks at New York's Stuyvesant High School
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[size=1.4em]Has made around $72million; has bought BMW and Manhattan apartment
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[size=1.4em]He cites his inspiration as billionaire hedge-funder Paul Tudor Jones, 60
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[size=1.4em]Mohammed's parents are immigrants from Bengal region of South Asia
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[size=1.4em]Student hopes to start hedge fund next year and make $1bn with friends
[size=1.4em]On his Instagram profile, he has written: 'More money, less problems'
PUBLISHED: 15:19 GMT, 14 December 2014 | UPDATED: 17:20 GMT, 14 December 2014
He has not yet reached his 18th birthday.
But Mohammed Islam, from Queens, New York, has already made an estimated $72million - from trading stocks on his lunch breaks at school, according to New York magazine's Monday issue.
The 17-year-old, who started dabbling in penny stocks at the tender age of nine, spends most of his breaks at Stuyvesant High School trading oil and gold futures, and small to mid-cap equities.
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Multi-millionaire: Mohammed Islam (pictured in a Facebook photo), 17, from Queens, New York, has already made an estimated $72million - from trading stocks on his lunch breaks at Stuyvesant High School
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Professional: The teenager (center, in glasses), who started dabbling in penny stocks at the tender age of nine, spends most of his school breaks trading oil and gold futures, and small to mid-cap equities
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Life of luxury: Outside of school, Mohammed (left, in an Instagram shot) often takes his friends out to dine at Morimoto on 10th Avenue, where they feast on $400 caviar, expensive dishes and fresh-squeezed apple juice
Outside of school, he often takes his friends out to dine at Morimoto on 10th Avenue, where they feast on $400 caviar, expensive dishes and freshly-squeezed apple juice.
During an interview for the magazine;s 10th annual 'Reasons to Love New York issue', Mohammed refused to disclose his exact net worth, but he admitted it was in 'the high eight figures'.
The successful teenager revealed he had used his incredible wealth to purchase a BMW - which he does not yet have a license to drive - and rent a Manhattan apartment.
However, his parents, who are immigrants from the Bengal region of South Asia, will not yet allow him to move out of their family home in Queens, according to the New York Post.
Mohammed has also taken to social media to show off his well-funded, lavish lifestyle - regularly posting videos of him partying, playing poker and dancing with numerous women on Instagram.
His hard-earned cash has certainly been beneficial to his parents. 'My dad doesn't work now and I tend to help out with things, and futures gives me that incentive,' said the student.
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School: During an interview for New York magazine, Mohammed refused to disclose his exact net worth, but he admitted it was in 'the high eight figures'. Above, Stuyvesant High School, where he traded stocks
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Lavish: Mohammed has also taken to social media to show off his well-funded, lavish lifestyle - regularly posting videos of him partying, playing poker (pictured) and dancing with numerous women on Instagram
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Birthday fun: The teenager revealed he had used his wealth to purchase a BMW - which he does not yet have a license to drive - and rent a Manhattan apartment. Above, a clip from a video on Mohammed's Instagram
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This photo, also posted on the student's Instagram, shows two women holding up bottles of champagne
[size=1.2em]But despite its advantages, Mr and Mrs Islam are not overly keen on their son's interest in trading.
[size=1.2em]'My dad doesn't like [finance] that much,' Mohammed, who has written the phrase, 'More money, less problems', on his Instagram profile, said in an ISSUU interview.
[size=1.2em]'He says he is ok with me trading, but my mom is skeptical about the market. But they see it as, if I am good at it, then why not?'
If money is not flowing, if businesses don’t keep going, there’s no innovation, no products, no investments, no growth, no jobs
Mohammed Islam
[size=1.2em]A year after he started experimenting with penny stocks, Mohammed was introduced to further financial markets by his cousin. He has since developed a 'life-long passion' for trading.
[size=1.2em]'What makes the world go round? Money,' he said. 'If money is not flowing, if businesses don’t keep going, there’s no innovation, no products, no investments, no growth, no jobs.'
[size=1.2em]On his LinkedIn profile, the student said he rose to success while trading stocks during his lunch breaks because he 'followed the market, hunted for opportunities and used everything from fundamental analysis to technical analysis and price action to speculate in the markets'.
[size=1.2em]After having high returns in penny stocks, he moved on to small-mid cap equities, then derivatives, before feeling out the futures market and specializing in oil and gold, he said.
[size=1.2em]He added he has now developed 'a passion for understanding the markets and a passion for making money', and trades 'mainly based on volatility and volume'.
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Let me take a selfie: Mohammed has the phrase, 'More money, less problems', written on his Instagram profile. Above, a female reveller is pictured taking a selfie in another video on Mohammed's Instagram
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Speech: Speaking of his passion for trading stocks, Mohammed (pictured giving a speech), who trades 'mainly based on the volatility and volume' of gold and oil, said: 'What makes the world go round? Money'
[size=1.2em]During his interview with New York magazine's, Mohammed revealed his biggest inspiration in the finance world has been Paul Tudor Jones.
[size=1.2em]Jones, 60, the billionaire founder of Tudor Investment Corporation, a private asset management firm and hedge fund, ranks as the 108th-richest American, according to Forbes.
Mohammed said that while he had been 'paralyzed' by his losses when he first started trading, he quickly learned from Connecticut-based Jones's ability to get back into the game again and again.
[size=1.2em]'I had been paralyzed by my loss,' he said. 'But [Jones] was able to go back to it, even after losing thousands of dollars over and over.'
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Inspiration: Mohammed revealed his biggest inspiration in the finance world has been Paul Tudor Jones (pictured), the founder of Tudor Investment Corporation, a private asset management firm and hedge fund
[size=1.2em]Speaking to Business Insider, he added: 'Jones’s personality and technique are what make him so successful and I aspire to become even one per cent of the man he is.
[size=1.2em]'He went through obstacles, yet still came out on top'
It’s not just about the money. We want to create a brotherhood
Mohammed Islam
[size=1.2em]And despite his massive fortune, Mohammed has no plans to give up trading just yet.
The teenager said he and his trader friends hope to start a hedge fund in June - when he is old enough to get his broker-dealer license - and intend to make a billion dollars by next year.
This, of course, will all be done while attending college.
[size=1.2em]'It’s not just about the money,' said Mohammed, whose ultimate goal is to pave a path in the financial industry that will enable him to become a reputable hedge fund manager.
[size=1.2em]'We want to create a brotherhood. Like, all of us who are connected, who are in something together, who have influence.'
EXCLUSIVE: New York Mag’s Boy Genius Investor Made It All UpIn an exclusive Observer interview, Mohammed Islam, said to have investment returns of $72 million as a hs senior, admits he invented the whole storyBy Ken Kurson | 12/15/14 7:55pm
Damir Tulemaganbetov and Mohammed Islam (r) in the office of 5WPR, a public relations firm hired in the wake of a New York magazine story about Islam’s supposed investment genius. (Ken Kurson/New York Observer)
It’s been a tough month for factchecking. After the Rolling Stone campus rape story unraveled, readers of all publications can be forgiven for questioning the process by which Americans get our news. And now it turns out that another blockbuster story is —to quote its subject in an exclusive Observer interview—”not true.”
Monday’s edition of New York magazine includes an irresistible story about a Stuyvesant High senior named Mohammed Islam who had made a fortune investing in the stock market. Reporter Jessica Pressler wrote regarding the precise number, “Though he is shy about the $72 million number, he confirmed his net worth is in the “’high eight figures.’” The New York Post followed up with a story of its own, with the fat figure playing a key role in the headline: “High school student scores $72M playing the stock market.”
And now it turns out, the real number is … zero.
In an exclusive interview with Mr. Islam and his friend Damir Tulemaganbetov, who also featured heavily in the New York story, the baby faced boys who dress in suits with tie clips came clean. Swept up in a tide of media adulation, they made the whole thing up.
Speaking at the offices of their newly hired crisis pr firm, 5WPR, and handled by a phalanx of four, including the lawyer Ed Mermelstein of RheemBell & Mermelstein, Mr. Islam told a story that will be familiar to just about any 12th grader—a fib turns into a lie turns into a rumor turns into a bunch of mainstream media stories and invitations to appear on CNBC.
Here’s how it happened.
Observer: What was your first contact with the New York magazine reporter?
Mohammed Islam: My friend’s father worked at New York magazine and he had the reporter contact me. Then she [Jessica Pressler] called me.
You seem to be quoted saying “eight figures.” That’s not true, is it?
No, it is not true.
The Post trumpeted the boys’ investment success, as did New York magazine. (screencap)
Is there ANY figure? Have you invested and made returns at all?
No.
So it’s total fiction?
Yes.
Are you interested in investing? How did you get this reputation?
I run an investment club at Stuy High which does only simulated trades.
If you had been playing with real money, would you have done really well?
The simulated trades percentage was extremely high relative to the S&P.
Where did Jessica Pressler come up with the $72 million figure?
I honestly don’t know. The number’s a rumor.
She said ‘have you made $72 million’?
[I led her to believe] I had made even more than $72 million on the simulated trades.
At this point the PR reps jumped in with Law & Order style objections. A conference outside the room ensued. Back into the room came Mr. Islam.
All I can say is for the simulated trades, I was very successful. The returns were incredible and outperformed the S&P.
Damir, tell me where you fit into this.
Damir Tulemaganbetov: Well, I got excited by this whole trading thing and I said hey, let me get on board. I heard about this article coming out and Mohammed invited me and I met Jessica.
But you guys are pals outside of this?
We go to social gatherings and friends’ places.
Are you into stockpicking as well?
I haven’t been into it but I’m interested.
Mohammed, you’re from Queens and you go to this elite public high school. Is this a hobby of your parents as well or would you be the first person in your family to pursue high finance?
Mohammed Islam: In my immediate family, just me.
So what did your parents think when they’re reading that you’ve got $72 million?
Mohammed Islam: Honestly, my dad wanted to disown me. My mom basically said she’d never talk to me. Their morals are that if I lie about it and don’t own up to it then they can no longer trust me. … They knew it was false and they basically wanted to kill me and I haven’t spoken to them since.
You haven’t? Where did you sleep last night?
Mohammed Islam: At a friend’s house. But we didn’t sleep.
Damir Tulemaganbetov: We stayed awake all night. We’ve been checking out news all over the world.
Are your friends blowing up your phones?
Damir Tulemaganbetov: He had 297 unread messages and 190 LinkedIn. All the friends shared it.
Mohammed Islam: It was hyped up beyond belief.
Damir Tulemaganbetov: We were at CNBC. That’s why we’re dressed up. But we were there and literally in the building stressing out. We had 20 minutes. Then we three times asked them could we have 20 seconds to talk?
[The boys ended up cancelling the CNBC appearance.]
Where do you go from here?
Damir Tulemaganbetov: Socially, people will be mad about it. But we’re sorry. Especially to our parents. Like my dad would read this and be like ‘Oh My God’ because he’s a very humble man and I portrayed him like a bad father.
Mohammed Islam: At school, first things first. I am incredibly sorry for any misjudgment and any hurt I caused. The people I’m most sorry for is my parents. I did something where I can no longer gain their trust. I have one sister, two years younger, and we don’t really talk.
So that’s that. There was no $72 million, no “eight figures,” not even one figure. The story is already coming unglued as the commenters on New York’s site hammer the reporter for even thinking this was possible. New York has now altered its headline to back away from the $72 million figure but the story itself remains. Even if this working-class kid had somehow started with $100,000 as a high school freshman on day one at Stuy High, he’d have needed to average a compounded annualized return of something like 796% over the three years since. C’mon, man.
It’s not hard to see why the story was tough to resist for New York, which placed Mr. Islam’s alleged acumen at No. 12 in its 10th annual “Reasons to Love New York” issue. Ms. Pressler quoted him saying, “It’s not just about money. 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 …” Yep, nothing says success—or search engine optimization—quite like “Koch brothers.”
No one asked for my opinion, but I’m going to provide it anyway, having sat with these kids for a good bit on a tough day. They got carried away. They’re not children. But they’re not quite adults, either, and at least Mr. Islam was literally quaking as we spoke. So yeah, they probably should have known better. But New York and the New York Post probably should have, as well. This story smelled fishy the instant it appeared and a quick dance with the calculator probably would have saved these young men—and a couple reporters—some embarrassment.
The Stuyvesant High School classmates stayed up all night as the crisis grew. (5WPR)
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