The man behind the meme

After nearly three years of silence, Roaring Kitty, aka Keith Gill, triggered a meme stock resurgence in mid-May when he posted a single meme.

Now Gill, the man behind the meme stock craze, has once again pulled the strings of the market with a single post.

Gill posted on Reddit over the weekend, revealing his approximately $116 million position in GameStop, along with a call-options position worth $65.7 million that expires June 21. GameStop shares soared 27% Monday on the news of the post, while AMC shares also gained 12%.

While the posts were not verified by news outlets, it appears that trading activity reflected Gill’s Reddit post. And on Sunday night, the Roaring Kitty X/Twitter handle posted a cryptic Uno reverse card.

The army of Redditors has long proven their influence on a few key meme-stock companies such as AMC, Bed Bath & Beyond, and most famously Gamestop. Yet what started as a self-fashioned populist movement rejecting Wall Street has also enriched the same people who are leading it. Gill’s positions are reportedly worth $386 million as of Monday morning.

It’s no surprise that Gill’s personal wealth is tied up in the companies he posts about, but with a single person having so much influence in the market, investors should be wary of being left out in the cold of a trend that is largely being driven by one unpredictable character.

Who is Keith Gill?

Prior to his career as the prodigal son of meme stock traders, Gill was the director of education and wellness at a branch of Massachusetts Mutual Life Insurance, according to the Wall Street Journal.

The 38-year-old began posting about Gamestop on Reddit in 2019, and escalated to bullish YouTube videos in 2020. Securities regulators reportedly fined MML Investor Services LLC $4 million in 2021 as part of the settlement for a probe into Gill’s social media use while working at the company.

It’s safe to say that most investors understand that trading meme stocks is more akin to gambling than long-term investing, though it’s still remarkable that Gill can influence share prices to such an extent with just one social media post. While the volatility he inspires is undeniably entertaining, it’s also important to remember to stay steady with your portfolio and not make impulse trades out of sheer FOMO.