These Traders Actually Made Money In An Industry Where Most Don’t
It is one of the most lucrative endeavors you will ever come across, and when done right, you can earn a lot of money.
However, it is also an industry full of scams and people promising the earth just so that you pay them for their subscription service long enough to make them rich and to make you poor.
One tool you have against scammers is to study those who have actually made it and acquired vast amounts of wealth.
Some got lucky and subsequently lost it instantly, but others kept it because they knew what they were doing.
Time in the industry is one of (not the only) biggest indicators of success.
1. Steve Oliverez Lost $40,000 Before Making Money Online
Steve Oliverez is the trader that took massive gambles, which ultimately paid off but he has changed his tune when it comes to investing with his millions now.
Back in 2017, he noticed that US Republicans were proposing a tax regime similar to that in the 1980s. Back then, when the sitting President, Ronald Reagan, announced a lower tax plan, the stock market soared.
Although we are in different times to the 1980s, Oliverez took the gamble and bet $100,000 that a rally would take place after the new administration’s fiscal policy was implemented.
It paid off.
Staring down the barrel of losing everything, in late December, the market rallied and Oliverez closed out on a million-dollar trade.
It wasn’t the first time Oliverez had bet big on politics as in 2016; he lost $40,000 after Donald Trump was elected.
He has since realized that the big bets are too stressful and too risky for the long term and now advocates long-term investments as a wise strategy.
2. Navinder Singh Sarao Is The “Hound Of Hounslow.”
Navinder Singh is the infamous British trader who wrote his name into the history books when he was largely attributed with the “Flash Crash,” which saw trillions of dollars being wiped off the American stock markets on the 6th of May 2010.
And he did it all from his parent’s spare bedroom in Hounslow, London.
Singh will forever be part of trading folklore after his trading led the famous US market index, the Dow Jones, to drop over 1000 points in a matter of minutes.
Although the stock market crash was the shortest in its history and had rebounded within hours, the reclusive trader Singh still managed to pocket millions of dollars in the process.
However, he would not be allowed to enjoy his newfound wealth after his successful “spoofing” of the market would mean he would be embroiled in a legal battle for years that saw him narrowly escape jail time.
3. French Trader Made A $6Billion Dollar Trade On What He Thought Was A Demo Account
One of the first things that is recommended when you start trading in the markets is to “paper trade”.
Platforms like eToro offer beginners the ability to participate in the market without committing any money upfront by creating fake trades that mimic real ones.
It was this distinction that led to a huge error for Harouna Traore, who, in 2017, still thought he was paper trading when in fact, he had accumulated a real live $6 billion position trading in the derivatives market.
Traore was a novice who had opened his account with the brokerage firm Valbury Capital just weeks earlier. The broker confirmed that there was an error on his account, which should have limited his trades which could have seen the company go bankrupt.
With the potential to lose hundreds of millions of dollars, Traore managed to trade his way to making $11 million in just a matter of days after closing all of his positions.
He is currently suing the company for not paying out…ouch!
4. Chris Camillo Was Working In McDonald’s While Trading In His Spare Time
Between 2007 and 2010, Chris Camillo turned $20k into $2 million. A ridiculously impressive feat on its own, but when you put it into a context that during that time, the US economy was unraveling in one of the biggest financial crises it had ever seen, then you know this guy knows what he is doing.
How did he do it? Using something called information arbitrage.
Camillo would study trends from those around him whether it would be via his Facebook or in his place of work; the investor picked up on what people were getting excited about.
When his work colleague told him that everyone in the office was reading The Hunger Games and that it was going to be a huge film, he bet big that the company that bought the film rights would do well.
He was right.
The said company, Lionsgate, share price doubled over the next few months when Wall Street started to see the potential too. By beating Wall Street to the punch, Camillo was able to make massive gains just by living his life and interacting with others.
5. Tim Grittani Has Turned $1,500 To Over $8 Million In 6 Years
Like every young adolescent in their early twenties, Tim Grittani was looking for a way to make money as quickly as possible. In 2011 he stumbled across legendary penny stock trader Tim Sykes, who made millions from his dorm room in college.
In a bold step, Grittani tried to emulate his mentor as he withdrew his life savings of $1,500 and started speculating on the markets.
He lost it all.
Undeterred and seeing that there was still potential in trading in the highly volatile yet potentially lucrative penny stocks, he hustled for more funds and started again.
He now spends his time raising his children and traveling the world with his partner while trading and teaching others that trading your way to success is still possible today.
6. Self-Made Millionaire From the UK Started Out With ยฃ1,000 Before Making Millions
The Foreign Exchange (FOREX) markets are huge and the current best estimates for the amount of daily transactions amount to nearly $7 trillion dollars a day.
With that amount of money sloshing around, it is no wonder that they are a favorite, with short-term online traders looking to buy and sell different currencies quickly to take advantage of price discrepancies or take a view of the health of a country’s economy.
In his early twenties, Luke Blackburn had very few qualifications, and his school teachers predicted that he would fail in life.
Determined to prove the doubters wrong, the youngster from Hull started trading in the FOREX markets after studying online techniques posted on YouTube.
Within a few years, he was raking in ยฃ50,000 a month, something he thought he would never achieve coming from a “working class” background.
He has tried to sell his services, but after getting into trouble with the regulators, he decided to focus on his business empire by investing in the property while still trading online.
7. Legendary Japanese Trader Takashi Kotegawa Made Of $150million
If you have ever studied day trading, you will know that the Japanese have had some of the best traders that have ever lived. In fact, the famous “candlestick” indicators were invented by rice traders in the Osaka markets back in the 18th century.
With Takashi Kotegawa, it would seem that the tradition has lived on as he became famous in the 2000s for being a self-taught trader that turned $13k to $150million, all from the comfort of his bedroom dressed in his favorite manga pajamas.
The now 41-year-old managed to make his fortune over an 8-year period with the $13k he had saved up working while in college trading the Japanese Stock Market, The Nikkei.
His success, combined with his hermit-like existence, has made him a cult hero in Japan, where few have met or know anything about the million-dollar trader.
What we do know is that even though he is a millionaire multiple times over, he doesn’t waste his money on expensive gifts or purchases, as he has been cited as saying the most expensive gift he bought was the Nintendo Wii.
8. Trader Richard Dobatse Makes $1million Then Loses It On The Robinhood App
If you have been a part of the trading industry over the last 20 years, you would have noticed some big changes.
Not only are trading in stocks and other advanced market instruments now accessible to the average investor, but Apps like Robinhood have made commissions on your transactions a thing of the past.
While creating a more level playing field is advantageous to the small investor, it can also lead to some crazy situations, as it did to Richard Dobatse in 2017.
After taking out loans against his home to trade his way out of a $15,000 hole that he found himself in, things were looking good for the former Navy medic, who was in his late twenties at the time.
In fact, he had done so well his portfolio was worth over $1 million.
Disaster struck when the father of three continued to trade, and within three months, his account had just over $6,000…ouch!
The phrase “Easy come, easy go” comes to mind, especially when you don’t know what you are doing.
9. 16-year-old Forex Trader Who Makes 6 Figures After Learning On Youtube
After scrolling his Instagram one evening, 16-year-old, Edward Ricketts saw a flashy ad of a FOREX trader in front of a new ‘Lambo’ and thought to himself…I want that lifestyle.
After realizing it was a scam, he decided to put more research into the online trading world and decided, with the help of his Dad, to set up an account to invest his ยฃ160 savings into it.
He lost it on the first day and avoided his parents for the next few months.
He hustled to get some more funds, but after he “blew it,” he decided to take his endeavor a lot more seriously and not like a get-rich-quick scheme.
The young trader started to plan out his trades and was determined not to get emotional about his positions, whether they won or lost. He started on a “paper” account for three weeks and turned ยฃ3,000 into ยฃ30,000.
He was now ready to go live again.
This time the youngster turned ยฃ150 into ยฃ61,000 in 8 months. He is now on his journey to becoming a millionaire.
10. Timothy Sykes Built A Million Dollar Portfolio From His Dorm Room In College
One of the most well-known penny stock traders who shot to fame in the early 2000s, Timothy Sykes, was one of the early “bedroom” speculators chasing his fortune in the markets.
A student of Tulane University, the teenager would regularly miss class to day trade, where he famously turned $12k of his Bar Mitzvah money into $1.65 million.
The outstanding achievement grabbed the attention of the TV producers for a new documentary, Wall Street Warriors, which followed the daily life of speculators and investors in New York.
The documentary was a huge success, and Sykes’ profile was transformed overnight with thousands of requests for him to teach others his methods.
Nowadays, Sykes is more of a financial educator, and he travels the world to discuss his lifelong passion for trading and helping others like Tim Grittani, who is on this list!
11. Millionaire Ross Cameron Teaches Trading On YouTube
Ross Cameron is not like most traders. For one – he is successful (remember, 90% of traders end up losing money and then quitting and closing their accounts). The second distinguishing feature is that he documents his progress and actual trades that he makes on a daily basis for free on his YouTube channel.
He founded an online community called Warrior Trading, which was designed to help day traders get started and continually monitor the markets for opportunities.
Cameron started operating in 2012, and in May 2019, he announced to his subscribers that he had completed the $1 million challenge, which was to achieve a $1 million net profit purely from his trading strategies.
The genius of founding a community is that. You have others who will spur you on in the dark and lonely times that day trading can be for some.
Not only that, but the trader also receives a side income from his YouTube channel in addition to his successful trading.
It’s Not As Easy As These Traders Make It
There are lots of examples here of people who can trade their way to success and still can today.
As Edward Rickett’s example demonstrated, the “get rich quick” style doesn’t work for the vast majority, but if you approach it methodically, the big returns will come.
If you don’t gamble your money and you will be beating a lot of retail investors in today’s market who don’t understand risk management.
What do you think of these traders? Do you think trading successfully is possible? Let us know your thoughts in the comments section below.
[kadence_element id=”2496″]