['
In
', 'mid-2019,
', 'a
', 'user
', '—
', 'known
', 'as
', '“Roaring
', 'Kitty”
', 'on
', 'some
', 'social
', 'media
', 'accounts
', '—
', 'posted
', 'a
', 'picture
', 'on
', 'an
', 'online
', 'forum
', 'depicting
', 'a
', 'single
', '$53,000
', 'investment
', 'in
', 'the
', 'video-game
', 'retailer
', 'GameStop.
', 'The
', 'post
', 'attracted
', 'little
', 'attention,
', 'except
', 'from
', 'a
', 'few
', 'people
', 'who
', 'mocked
', 'the
', 'bet
', 'on
', 'the
', 'struggling
', 'company.
', '“This
', 'dude
', 'should
', 'sell
', 'now,”
', 'a
', 'user
', 'named
', 'cmcewen
', 'wrote
', 'at
', 'the
', 'time.
', 'But
', 'Roaring
', 'Kitty
', 'was
', 'not
', 'deterred.
', 'Over
', 'the
', 'next
', 'year,
', 'he
', 'began
', 'tweeting
', 'frequently
', 'about
', 'GameStop
', 'and
', 'making
', 'YouTube
', 'and
', 'TikTok
', 'videos
', 'about
', 'his
', 'investment.
', 'He
', 'also
', 'started
', 'livestreaming
', 'his
', 'financial
', 'ideas
', '.
', 'Other
', 'users
', 'with
', 'monikers
', 'like
', 'Ackilles
', 'and
', 'Bowlerguy92
', 'began
', 'following
', 'his
', 'every
', 'move
', 'and
', 'piling
', 'into
', 'GameStop.
', '“IF
', 'HE
', 'IS
', 'IN
', 'WE
', 'ARE
', 'IN💎💎💎,”
', 'one
', 'user
', 'wrote
', 'on
', 'a
', 'board
', 'called
', 'WallStreetBets
', 'on
', 'Tuesday.
', 'Roaring
', 'Kitty
', '—
', 'who
', 'is
', 'Keith
', 'Gill,
', '34,
', 'a
', 'former
', 'financial
', 'educator
', 'for
', 'an
', 'insurance
', 'firm
', 'in
', 'Massachusetts
', '—
', 'has
', 'now
', 'become
', 'a
', 'central
', 'figure
', 'in
', 'this
', 'week’s
', 'stock
', 'market
', 'frenzy
', '.
', 'Inspired
', 'by
', 'him
', 'and
', 'a
', 'small
', 'crew
', 'of
', 'individual
', 'investors
', 'who
', 'gathered
', 'around
', 'him,
', 'hordes
', 'of
', 'young
', 'online
', 'traders
', 'took
', 'GameStop’s
', 'stock
', 'on
', 'a
', 'wild
', 'ride,
', 'pitting
', 'themselves
', 'against
', 'sophisticated
', 'hedge
', 'funds
', 'and
', 'upending
', 'Wall
', 'Street’s
', 'norms
', 'in
', 'the
', 'process.
', 'Their
', 'actions
', '—
', 'pushing
', 'up
', 'GameStop’s
', 'price
', 'by
', 'buying
', 'so-called
', 'options
', 'contracts
', 'that
', 'offer
', 'a
', 'cheap
', 'way
', 'to
', 'bet
', 'on
', 'a
', 'stock’s
', 'direction
', '—
', 'have
', 'shocked
', 'established
', 'investors
', 'because
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'and
', 'his
', 'online
', 'comrades
', 'are
', 'the
', 'antithesis
', 'of
', 'the
', 'Wall
', 'Street
', 'titans
', 'who
', 'have
', 'long
', 'ruled
', 'the
', 'stock
', 'market.
', 'Image
', 'A
', 'screenshot
', 'of
', 'Keith
', 'Gill
', 'from
', 'his
', 'Roaring
', 'Kitty’s
', 'YouTube
', 'channel.
', 'Credit...
', 'via
', 'YouTube
', 'Working
', 'far
', 'from
', 'well-heeled
', 'financial
', 'offices,
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'and
', 'his
', 'fans
', 'socialized
', 'on
', 'and
', 'YouTube
', 'and
', 'used
', 'no-fee
', 'online
', 'trading
', 'platforms
', 'like
', 'Robinhood
', 'and
', 'WeBull.
', 'Many
', 'were
', 'so
', 'devoted
', 'to
', 'their
', 'GameStop
', 'investment
', 'that
', 'they
', 'spent
', 'hours
', 'each
', 'week
', 'chatting
', 'in
', 'the
', 'comments
', 'section
', 'of
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill’s
', 'videos,
', 'delving
', 'into
', 'the
', 'company’s
', 'financial
', 'filings
', 'and
', 'arcane
', 'details
', 'about
', 'free-cash
', 'flow
', 'and
', 'video
', 'game
', 'consoles.
', 'Their
', 'show
', 'of
', 'force
', 'this
', 'week
', 'underlines
', 'how
', 'the
', 'financial
', 'markets
', 'have
', 'changed
', 'by
', 'merging
', 'with
', 'the
', 'world
', 'of
', 'social
', 'media
', 'and
', 'a
', 'younger
', 'generation
', 'of
', 'traders
', 'who
', 'have
', 'been
', 'empowered
', 'by
', 'online
', 'platforms.
', 'It
', 'has
', 'also
', 'made
', 'some
', 'in
', 'this
', 'new
', 'generation
', 'wildly
', 'wealthy.
', 'On
', 'Tuesday,
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'posted
', 'a
', 'picture
', 'on
', 'that
', 'showed
', 'his
', '$53,000
', 'bet
', 'on
', 'GameStop
', 'had
', 'soared
', 'in
', 'value
', 'to
', '$48
', 'million.
', '(His
', 'holdings
', 'could
', 'not
', 'be
', 'independently
', 'verified.)
', 'The
', 'post
', 'was
', '“upvoted”
', '—
', 'the
', 'equivalent
', 'of
', 'being
', 'liked
', '—
', 'more
', 'than
', '140,000
', 'times
', 'by
', 'other
', 'users.
', 'GameStop,
', 'which
', 'traded
', 'at
', '$4
', 'a
', 'year
', 'ago,
', 'closed
', 'on
', 'Friday
', 'at
', '$325.
', '“Your
', 'example
', 'has
', 'literally
', 'changed
', 'the
', 'lives
', 'of
', 'thousands
', 'of
', 'ordinary
', 'normal
', 'people,”
', 'a
', 'user
', 'named
', 'reality_czech
', 'wrote
', 'this
', 'week
', 'to
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill.
', '“Seriously
', 'thank
', 'you.”
', 'Larry
', 'Tabb,
', 'the
', 'head
', 'of
', 'market
', 'structure
', 'research
', 'at
', 'Bloomberg
', 'Intelligence,
', 'said
', 'the
', 'rise
', 'of
', 'traders
', 'like
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', '“would
', 'have
', 'been
', 'impossible
', 'even
', 'a
', 'few
', 'years
', 'ago”
', 'because
', 'every
', 'trade
', 'came
', 'with
', 'a
', 'fee
', 'and
', 'there
', 'was
', 'less
', 'focus
', 'on
', 'the
', 'markets
', 'on
', 'social
', 'media.
', 'But
', 'with
', 'people
', 'now
', 'stuck
', 'at
', 'home
', 'in
', 'the
', 'pandemic
', 'with
', 'easy
', 'access
', 'to
', 'free
', 'trading
', 'at
', 'online
', 'brokerages
', ',
', '“these
', 'guys
', 'saw
', 'an
', 'opportunity
', 'and
', 'they
', 'took
', 'it,”
', 'he
', 'said.
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'did
', 'not
', 'respond
', 'to
', 'requests
', 'for
', 'comment.
', 'His
', 'online
', 'accounts
', 'and
', 'addresses
', 'were
', 'tied
', 'to
', 'his
', 'old
', 'office
', 'in
', 'New
', 'Hampshire
', 'and
', 'his
', 'Massachusetts
', 'home.
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill’s
', 'mother,
', 'Elaine,
', 'confirmed
', 'in
', 'a
', 'brief
', 'phone
', 'call
', 'that
', 'her
', 'son
', 'was
', 'Roaring
', 'Kitty.
', '“I’m
', 'proud,”
', 'she
', 'said,
', 'before
', 'hanging
', 'up.
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill’s
', 'life
', 'as
', 'Roaring
', 'Kitty
', 'began
', 'in
', '2014
', 'when
', 'he
', 'started
', 'a
', 'limited
', 'liability
', 'company
', 'with
', 'that
', 'name.
', 'Before
', 'that,
', 'he
', 'was
', 'an
', 'All
', 'American
', 'runner
', 'in
', 'college
', 'who
', 'could
', 'cover
', 'a
', 'mile
', 'in
', '4
', 'minutes
', '3
', 'seconds,
', 'according
', 'to
', 'local
', 'newspapers.
', 'After
', 'graduating,
', 'he
', 'worked
', 'as
', 'a
', 'chartered
', 'financial
', 'analyst
', 'and
', 'a
', 'financial
', 'wellness
', 'educator,
', 'a
', 'recently
', 'deleted
', 'profile
', 'showed.
', 'In
', 'August
', '2019,
', 'he
', 'began
', 'posting
', 'on
', 'Reddit.
', 'Like
', 'many
', 'other
', 'users,
', 'he
', 'showed
', 'familiarity
', 'with
', 'memes
', 'and
', 'internet
', 'expressions
', 'like
', 'YOLO
', '(you
', 'only
', 'live
', 'once)
', 'and
', 'exhibited
', 'a
', 'love
', 'for
', 'profanity.
', 'The
', 'middle
', 'letter
', 'of
', 'the
', 'initials
', 'of
', 'his
', 'username,
', 'DFV,
', 'refers
', 'to
', 'an
', 'expletive.
', 'On
', 'YouTube,
', 'TikTok
', 'and
', 'Twitter,
', 'he
', 'went
', 'by
', 'Roaring
', 'Kitty.
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill’s
', 'first
', 'posts
', 'on
', 'WallStreetBets
', 'showed
', 'the
', 'screenshot
', 'of
', 'his
', 'E-Trade
', 'portfolio
', 'with
', 'the
', 'options
', 'trades
', 'he
', 'had
', 'made
', 'on
', 'GameStop,
', 'all
', 'of
', 'them
', 'betting
', 'the
', 'stock
', 'would
', 'go
', 'up.
', 'In
', 'the
', 'comments,
', 'he
', 'explained
', 'that
', 'Wall
', 'Street
', 'did
', 'not
', 'appreciate
', 'how
', 'much
', 'GameStop
', 'would
', '
benefit
', '
as
', 'new
', 'video
', 'game
', 'consoles
', 'were
', 'released.
', 'Shortly
', 'after
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'placed
', 'his
', 'trades,
', 'Michael
', 'Burry,
', 'an
', 'investor
', 'made
', 'famous
', 'by
', 'the
', 'Michael
', 'Lewis
', 'book
', '“
', 'The
', 'Big
', 'Short,
', '”
', 'also
', 'expressed
', 'interest
', 'in
', 'GameStop.
', 'On
', 'Reddit,
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'pointed
', 'to
', 'Mr.
', 'Burry’s
', 'post
', 'as
', 'validation.
', 'When
', 'others
', 'questioned
', 'the
', 'investment,
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'held
', 'firm.
', '“Dude
', 'everyone
', 'thinks
', 'I’m
', 'crazy,
', 'and
', 'I
', 'think
', 'everyone
', 'else
', 'is
', 'crazy,”
', 'he
', 'responded
', 'to
', 'a
', 'commenter
', 'when
', 'GameStop
', 'announced
', 'sales
', 'had
', 'dropped
', '30
', 'percent
', 'in
', 'late
', '2019.
', 'Last
', 'summer,
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'started
', 'a
', 'Roaring
', 'Kitty
', 'channel
', 'on
', 'YouTube
', 'where
', 'he
', 'talked
', 'for
', 'hours
', 'about
', 'GameStop.
', 'He
', 'had
', '418
', 'YouTube
', 'subscribers
', 'through
', 'last
', 'November,
', 'according
', 'to
', 'the
', 'web
', 'tracking
', 'firm
', 'SocialBlade.
', 'In
', 'one
', 'of
', 'his
', 'first
', 'YouTube
', 'videos,
', 'he
', 'wondered
', 'aloud,
', '“Maybe
', 'there’s
', 'going
', 'to
', 'be
', 'no
', 'one
', 'tuning
', 'in,
', 'so
', 'this
', 'is
', 'silly.”
', 'He
', 'explained
', 'that
', 'to
', 'avoid
', 'disturbing
', 'his
', '2-year-old
', 'daughter,
', 'he
', 'was
', 'filming
', 'in
', 'a
', 'basement
', 'room
', 'called
', 'the
', '“Kitty
', 'Corner,”
', 'with
', 'a
', 'stuffed
', 'animal
', 'cat
', 'on
', 'the
', 'doorknob.
', 'Fast-talking
', 'and
', 'cracking
', 'jokes
', 'in
', 'between
', 'analyzing
', 'stocks,
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'sipped
', 'beer,
', 'brandished
', 'cigars
', 'and
', 'told
', 'viewers
', 'he
', 'sometimes
', 'used
', 'a
', 'Magic
', '8-Ball
', 'to
', 'guide
', 'his
', 'investments.
', 'He
', 'often
', 'wore
', 'a
', 'baseball
', 'cap
', 'over
', 'his
', 'long
', 'hair
', 'and
', 'a
', 'T-shirt
', 'with
', 'a
', 'cat
', 'in
', 'sunglasses.
', 'The
', 'comments
', 'section
', 'of
', 'his
', 'videos
', 'soon
', 'became
', 'a
', 'gathering
', 'place
', 'for
', 'a
', 'small
', 'group
', 'of
', 'other
', 'GameStop
', 'fans.
', 'One
', 'YouTube
', 'follower,
', 'Joe
', 'Fonicello,
', 'known
', 'as
', 'Toast
', 'on
', 'Twitter,
', 'said
', 'he
', 'tuned
', 'in
', 'from
', 'an
', 'old
', 'van
', 'that
', 'he
', 'was
', 'traveling
', 'across
', 'the
', 'country
', 'in
', 'with
', 'his
', 'girlfriend.
', 'Image
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'often
', 'posted
', 'pictures
', 'of
', 'his
', 'GameStop
', 'investment.
', 'Credit...
', 'via
', 'Youtube
', '“She
', 'thought
', 'I
', 'was
', 'crazy
', 'until
', 'she
', 'heard
', 'the
', 'thesis”
', 'for
', 'what
', 'GameStop
', 'could
', 'be
', 'worth,
', 'said
', 'Mr.
', 'Fonicello,
', '21,
', 'who
', 'said
', 'he
', 'and
', 'his
', 'girlfriend’s
', 'investment
', 'in
', 'the
', 'stock
', 'has
', 'grown
', 'to
', 'over
', '$250,000
', 'this
', 'week
', 'from
', 'less
', 'than
', '$10,000
', 'originally.
', 'Mr.
', 'Fonicello
', 'said
', 'chatting
', 'with
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'and
', 'others
', 'online
', 'was
', 'not
', 'just
', 'about
', 'money.
', '“What
', 'went
', 'from
', 'a
', 'great
', 'few
', 'hours
', 'of
', 'stock
', 'analysis
', 'turned
', 'into
', 'a
', 'few
', 'hours
', 'of
', 'just
', 'spreading
', 'positivity,”
', 'he
', 'said.
', 'Last
', 'August,
', 'Ryan
', 'Cohen,
', 'the
', 'founder
', 'of
', 'the
', 'pet
', 'food
', 'site
', 'Chewy.com,
', 'announced
', 'that
', 'he
', 'had
', 'taken
', 'a
', 'big
', 'stake
', 'in
', 'GameStop.
', 'A
', 'few
', 'weeks
', 'later,
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill’s
', 'investment
', 'hit
', '$1
', 'million,
', 'according
', 'to
', 'pictures
', 'he
', 'posted
', 'of
', 'his
', 'portfolio.
', 'Through
', 'financial
', 'filings,
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill’s
', 'crew
', 'also
', 'discovered
', 'that
', 'hedge
', 'funds
', 'such
', 'as
', 'Point72
', 'and
', 'Citron
', 'Capital
', 'were
', 'betting
', 'that
', 'GameStop’s
', 'price
', 'would
', 'fall,
', 'in
', 'a
', 'maneuver
', 'known
', 'as
', 'short-selling.
', 'That
', 'angered
', 'them.
', '“That’s
', 'your
', 'ignition
', 'switch.
', 'A
', 'common
', 'enemy,
', 'so
', 'to
', 'speak,”
', 'said
', 'Rod
', 'Alzmann,
', '31,
', 'a
', 'corporate
', 'strategist
', 'in
', 'Florida
', 'who
', 'has
', 'bet
', 'on
', 'GameStop
', 'for
', 'even
', 'longer
', 'than
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'and
', 'posted
', 'online
', 'as
', 'Uberkikz11.
', '“The
', 'speculation
', 'is
', 'a
', 'rush,
', 'plus
', 'fighting
', 'the
', 'man.”
', 'In
', 'December,
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill’s
', 'wife
', 'made
', 'a
', 'cameo
', 'on
', 'YouTube
', 'when
', 'her
', 'hand
', 'appeared
', 'on
', 'a
', 'livestream
', 'to
', 'clink
', 'glasses
', 'with
', 'him
', 'to
', 'celebrate
', 'GameStop’s
', 'stock
', 'reaching
', '$20.
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'wore
', 'a
', 'pink
', 'party
', 'hat
', 'and
', 'sunglasses
', 'and
', 'sipped
', 'what
', 'appeared
', 'to
', 'be
', 'champagne.
', '“I
', 'certainly
', 'do
', 'not
', 'drive
', 'a
', 'Lambo,”
', 'he
', 'said
', 'in
', 'the
', 'video,
', 'referring
', 'to
', 'a
', 'Lamborghini.
', '“We
', 'rent
', 'this
', 'house
', 'that
', 'you
', 'see,
', 'so
', 'it’s
', 'been
', 'a
', 'wild
', 'ride
', 'for
', 'us
', 'as
', 'a
', 'family.”
', 'Earlier
', 'this
', 'month,
', 'Mr.
', 'Cohen
', 'joined
', 'GameStop’s
', 'board
', '.
', 'That
', 'caused
', 'the
', 'company’s
', 'stock
', 'to
', 'rise,
', 'enriching
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'and
', 'others.
', 'When
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'showed
', 'another
', 'picture
', 'of
', 'his
', 'investment
', 'on
', 'Jan.
', '13,
', 'some
', 'of
', 'the
', '44,200
', 'people
', 'who
', 'looked
', 'at
', 'the
', 'post
', 'said
', 'his
', 'decision
', 'not
', 'to
', 'cash
', 'out
', 'even
', 'a
', 'penny
', 'of
', 'GameStop
', 'kept
', 'them
', 'going.
', '“Daddy’s
', 'still
', 'in!”
', 'said
', 'a
', 'user
', 'named
', 'freehouse_throwaway
', '.
', '“Feels
', 'so
', 'good.”
', 'Late
', 'last
', 'week,
', '190,000
', 'viewers
', 'tuned
', 'in
', 'to
', 'the
', 'Roaring
', 'Kitty
', 'YouTube
', 'channel,
', 'which
', 'now
', 'has
', 'more
', 'than
', '74,000
', 'subscribers,
', 'as
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill,
', 'in
', 'a
', 'red
', 'bandanna
', 'and
', 'sunglasses,
', 'said
', 'he
', 'would
', 'be
', 'stepping
', 'away
', '“for
', 'a
', 'bit.”
', 'That
', 'day,
', 'he
', 'livestreamed
', 'for
', 'seven
', 'hours
', 'while
', 'watching
', 'a
', 'chart
', 'of
', 'GameStop’s
', 'surging
', 'stock,
', 'laughing
', 'and
', 'calling
', 'out
', 'to
', 'longtime
', 'comrades
', 'in
', 'the
', 'comments.
', 'On
', 'Thursday,
', 'several
', 'online
', 'brokerages
', 'shut
', 'down
', 'trading
', 'in
', 'GameStop
', ',
', 'causing
', 'the
', 'company’s
', 'price
', 'to
', 'plunge
', 'by
', 'almost
', 'two-thirds
', 'before
', 'steadying.
', 'Even
', 'ardent
', 'supporters
', 'wondered
', 'if
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'had
', 'finally
', 'caved
', 'and
', 'sold.
', 'Mr.
', 'Gill
', 'then
', 'posted
', 'another
', 'picture
', 'on
', 'showing
', 'he
', 'had
', 'stayed
', 'firm
', '—
', 'and
', 'had
', 'lost
', '$15
', 'million.
', 'His
', 'fans
', 'cheered.
', '“IF
', 'HE’S
', 'STILL
', 'IN,
', 'I’M
', 'STILL
', 'IN,”
', 'over
', '100
', 'different
', 'followers
', 'responded
', 'in
', 'quick
', 'succession.
', 'On
', 'Friday,
', 'their
', 'faith
', 'was
', 'rewarded
', 'when
', 'GameStop’s
', 'stock
', 'soared
', '68
', 'percent.
', 'Kitty
', 'Bennett
', 'contributed
', 'research.
']