The world of investing and stocks can be a confusing place – but to people who know what they’re doing, like Andrew Left, it’s a world of limitless potential.
Who is Andrew Left?
Left is an activist short seller, which essentially means he invests in stocks in a way that he would profit if the market value went down rather than up. He is also the editor and author of the Citron Research investment newsletter in which he publishes reports on firms he believes to be overvalued, or even engaged in fraud. His reports have often led to a shift in the market and his reputation has earned him the nickname “The Bounty Hunter of Wall Street.”
Of course, he’s not always right, Left was hit pretty hard by the whole GameStop fiasco which saw communities online boost shares in the company after it was shorted by people like Andrew. The events of that day resulted in a Hollywood movie that dramatized the whole saga.
What is Andrew Left’s net worth?
With his knowledge, you would imagine he’s likely a very rich man, he seems to know exactly when is best to short and it often leads to him making a solid profit. However, not all of his money was made legitimately – earlier last year he was indicted on one count of engaging in a securities fraud scheme, 17 counts of securities fraud, and one count of making false statements to federal investigators.
It’s believed that Left allegedly made profits of at least $16 million in ill-gotten profits from his fraudulent schemes. According to an article from Protectnfm.com, his net worth is currently estimated at around $20 million, including all his earnings from short-selling, other investments, and his role in founding Citron Research.
What did Andrew Left do?
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) accused Left of using his influence to manipulate the stock markets by publicly presenting his position of high-profile stocks one way, while trading them another way, in many cases doing the exact opposite of what he was claiming to do. To put it another way, he’s been accused of using bait-and-switch tactics, by telling the public via his platforms like X (Twitter) that he intended to do one thing or that he expected the stock to reach a certain level, and then he would quickly sell his stock after people had followed his advice to make a profit.
Left denied the accusations and in an interview with CNBC, attempted to defend his actions. He claims that he did not always sell his stocks immediately, “In some of these cases immediately was one day, in some of these cases immediately was six days.” He also denies doing the opposite to what he was publicly saying.
The SEC seems fairly confident that Left’s actions make him guilty of fraud and the short seller despite the defendant pleading “not guilty.” Andrew Left’s trial is due to take place on September 30th of this year.
Published: Jan 13, 2025 10:12 am