Dumb Money

The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees

By: Ben Mezrich

Narrated by: Fajer Al-Kaisi

Length: 7 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

From the author of the book that became the iconic The Social Network movie, here is the definitive take on one of the wildest stories ever—the David-vs.-Goliath GameStop short squeeze, a tale of fortunes won and lost overnight, marking an unforgettable event in financial history.

Bestselling author Ben Mezrich offers a gripping, beat-by-beat account of how a loosely affiliated group of private investors and internet trolls on a subreddit called WallStreetBets took down one of the biggest hedge funds on Wall Street, firing the first shot in a revolution that threatens to upend the establishment.

It’s the story of financial titans like Gabe Plotkin of hedge fund Melvin Capital, one of the most respected and staid funds on the Street, billionaires like Elon Musk, Steve Cohen, Mark Cuban, Robinhood co-CEOs Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt, and Ken Griffin of Citadel Securities. Over the course of four incredible days, each in their own way must reckon with a formidable force they barely understand, let alone saw coming: everyday men and women on WallStreetBets like nurse Kim Campbell, college student Jeremy Poe, and the enigmatic Keith “RoaringKitty” Gill, whose unfiltered livestream videos captivated a new generation of stock market enthusiasts.

The unlikely focus of the battle: GameStop, a flailing brick-and-mortar dinosaur catering to teenagers and outsiders that had somehow held on as the world rapidly moved online. At first, WallStreetBets was a joke—a meme-filled, freewheeling place to share shoot-the-moon investment tips, laugh about big losses, and post diamond hand emojis. Until some members noticed an opportunity in GameStop—and rode a rocket ship to tens of millions of dollars in earnings overnight.

In thrilling, pulse-pounding prose, DUMB MONEY offers a fascinating, never-before-seen glimpse at the outsize personalities, dizzying swings, corporate drama, and underestimated American heroes and heroines who captivated the nation during one of the most volatile weeks in financial history. It’s the amazing story of what just happened—and where we go from here.

Previously published as The Antisocial Network.

©2021 Ben Mezrich (P)2021 Grand Central Publishing

Great Story

I enjoyed the in-depth story from all the players involved. Ben is always such a good storyteller!

Great book

I really loved this book, it helped me understand what went on with Game Stop and it reads like a thriller.

Amazing storytelling

This should be a textbook for show vs. tell. Great analogies. Narration was excellent, enjoyed changes in accent with characters. Felt a void once it was over, just wanted more.

full of interesting detail

way more detail than the movie. that left me wanting so I bought the book. too bad we don't know how Keith truly ended up.

Portnoy Accent 🤦‍♂️

Good, quick story. Narration solid, need to know where the inspiration for Dave Portnoy voice came from?

I hope to hear an updated edition in the future.

I was surprised this story came out so quickly after the incident happened. I hope to hear an updated "where are they now" in the future.

Great Analysis of WSB and GME

A great narrative of how Wall Street Bets and GameStop coincided with amazing coincidence to cause havoc on the financial system.

Lovely

A typical Ben Mezrich smash hit, he was able to perfectly sum or and encapsulate the GameStop short squeeze, and described in great detail all the key players and how they affected and reacted to it. A very infamous economic story of our time. I hope the movie is great.

I also liked the stock.

Social Media bites big dog

Brilliantly written account of the Wall Street one-percenters raping and pillaging the rest of us and overall congressional ineptitude. For the first time since hot or not, it proves social media can serve a purpose. It also becomes clear that only those inside the financial system know how to manipulate the controls like Vegas casinos and pocket the skim. Even clearer that most who run for Congress were probably unable to get a job in the real world. Solid narration. Could do without the ESL accent and female impersonation. As well as this is written, it can get dry and esoteric. This ongoing Wall Street scandalous story needs to be told in a 5 minute or less video documentary that the masses can digest. The world needs a JOHN STEWART to synthesize this. Do I really need 15 more words audible?

Epic!

A must read! A great story of David vs. Goliath! Author walks through many different stories of individuals involved in the GME saga.