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Henry Blodget

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For the 19th century U.S. federal judge, see Henry Williams Blodgett.

Henry Blodget
Blodget in 2012
Born
Henry McKelvey Blodget

1966 (age 57–58)
EducationYale University (BA)
Occupation(s)Businessman
Investor
Journalist
Known forFormer securities analyst at Merrill Lynch during dot-com bubble charged with civil securities fraud

Henry McKelvey Blodget (born 1966) is an American businessman, investor and journalist. He is notable for his former career as an equity research analyst who was senior Internet analyst for CIBC Oppenheimer and the head of the global Internet research team at Merrill Lynch during the dot-com era.[1] Blodget was charged with civil securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission [2] and settled the charges. [3] Blodget is the co-founder and former CEO of Business Insider.[4]

Early life and education

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Blodget was born and raised on Manhattan's Upper East Side, the son of a commercial banker. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy and received a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale University, where he was a member of The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus.

After college, he taught English in Japan, then moved to San Francisco to be a writer while supporting himself by giving tennis lessons. He was also a freelance journalist and a proofreader for Harper's Magazine.[1]

Investment career

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In 1994, Blodget joined the corporate finance training program at Prudential Securities, and, two years later, moved to Oppenheimer & Co. in equity research. In October 1998, he predicted that the common stock of Amazon (Nasdaq: AMZN) then trading at $240, would be priced at $400 within a year. This was thought highly unlikely at the time; however, just three weeks later Amazon's stock price passed that mark, a gain of 67%.[5] This call received significant media attention. Two months later, Blodget accepted a position at Merrill Lynch, and frequently appeared on CNBC and similar shows.[5][6]

In early 2000, days before the dot-com bubble burst, Blodget personally invested $700,000 in tech stocks, only to lose most of it in the years that followed.[7] He accepted a buyout offer from Merrill Lynch and left the firm in 2001.[1] Subsequently, he was charged with civil securities fraud regarding actions taken while at Merrill Lynch.[8]

Fraud allegation and settlement

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In 2003, Blodget was charged with civil securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission.[8] and settled the charges with a payment of $4 million without admitting or denying the allegations and their underlying facts and findings. He was permanently barred from the securities industry and by the SEC, NASD, and NYSE.[9]

The charges arose from actions Blodget took from 1999-2001 while at Merrill Lynch, which included issuing materially misleading research reports on internet companies, and making exaggerated or unwarranted claims about them to customers.

Writing

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Following his departure from the financial markets, Blodget resumed his career as a financial and economics writer. He was appointed CEO of Cherry Hill Research, a research and consulting firm, and contributed to Slate, Newsweek International, The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes Online, Business 2.0, Euromoney, New York magazine, and The Financial Times.

Blodget rose to prominence again as co-founder, CEO, and editor-in-chief of Business Insider (initially known as Silicon Alley Insider) in 2007. He was also a frequent contributor to the Seeking Alpha website at the same time.[10] While CEO and owner of Business Insider, he offered free reproduction of all content to readers under Creative Commons licensing. In 2014, Jeffrey Bezos purchased a stake in Business Insider.

In November 2023, it was reported that Blodget would no longer be the CEO of Business Insider.[11] He no longer contributes articles to Slate, Newsweek, and New York magazine. Blodget's articles focus on the return-limiting actions of individual investors, including listening to analysts and the financial media, and relying on active management such as mutual and hedge funds. His Slate articles about investing carry a seven-paragraph disclosure of potential conflicts of interest.[7]

In January 2007, Blodget published The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A Consumer's Guide to Intelligent Investing.[12]

Internet broadcaster

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Blodget used to co-host the Daily-Ticker[13] broadcast with Aaron Task weekdays at Yahoo! Finance.

Bibliography

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  • The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A Consumer's Guide to Intelligent Investing. Atlas Books, 2007. ISBN 0-9777433-2-2.

References

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  1. ^ a b c McGeehan, Patrick (November 15, 2001). "Henry Blodget to Leave Merrill Lynch". The New York Times.
  2. ^ Factual allegations as submitted by SEC
  3. ^ https://www.newyorker.com/magazine/2013/04/08/business-outsider "Business Outsider," New Yorker magazine April 1, 2013
  4. ^ "Business Insider grew in 12 years to a monster digital enterprise. Now CEO Henry Blodget has plotted a new wave of expansion". Poynter. January 15, 2020. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  5. ^ a b "The Rehabilitation of Henry Blodget". The Motley Fool. November 24, 2004. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  6. ^ "Report Card:Henry Blodget". TheStreet.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  7. ^ a b "The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual, Part 4" by Blodget, with sidebar
  8. ^ a b Factual allegations as submitted by SEC
  9. ^ "The Securities and Exchange Commission, NASD and the New York Stock Exchange Permanently Bar Henry Blodget From the Securities Industry and Require $4 Million Payment". SEC. Retrieved April 21, 2007.
  10. ^ "Home". Silicon Alley Insider. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  11. ^ Bruell, Alexandra (November 14, 2023). "Insider Co-Founder Henry Blodget Steps Down as CEO Amid Strategy Shift". Wall Street Journal.
  12. ^ III, Harry Hurt (February 18, 2007). "Financial Advice From 'That Henry Blodget'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  13. ^ "Yahoo Daily Ticker".

Further reading

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