Henry Blodget

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Henry Blodget
Henry Blodget (Business Insider).jpg
Blodget in 2012
Born
Henry McKelvey Blodget
Occupation(s)Businessman
Investor
Journalist
Known forFormer securities analyst at Merrill Lynch during dot-com bubble charged with civil securities fraud

Henry McKelvey Blodget 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] Following the dot-com bubble, Blodget was charged with civil securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, settled the charges and was banned from working in the financial industry for life. [2] Blodget is the co-founder and former CEO of Business Insider . [3]

Contents

Early life and education

After college, Blodget taught English in Japan, then moved to San Francisco to establish a writing career. He became a freelance journalist and a proofreader for Harper's Magazine . [1]

Investment career

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%. [4] This call received significant media attention. Two months later, Blodget accepted a position at Merrill Lynch, and frequently appeared on CNBC and similar shows. [4] [5] 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. [6]

Fraud allegation and settlement

In 2002, then New York State Attorney General Eliot Spitzer published private Merrill Lynch e-mails in which Blodget negatively assessed stocks, in many cases conflicting widely with positive analysis he and Merrill Lynch had published. [7] In 2003, he was charged with civil securities fraud by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, relating to Blodget issuing materially misleading research reports on internet companies, and making exaggerated or unwarranted claims about them to customers. [6] He settled the charges after making a payment of $4 million and was permanently barred from employment in the securities industry by the SEC, NASD, and NYSE. [8]

Journalism

Following his ban from the financial industry, Blodget became a financial and economics writer. He has contributed to Slate , where his articles about investing carry a seven-paragraph disclosure of potential conflicts of interest. [9]

In 2007, Blodget co-founded Business Insider (initially known as Silicon Alley Insider) and was its initial CEO and editor-in-chief. [10] In January 2007, Blodget published The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A Consumer's Guide to Intelligent Investing. [11] In November 2023, he stepped down as CEO. [12]

Published books

References

  1. 1 2 3 McGeehan, Patrick (November 15, 2001). "Henry Blodget to Leave Merrill Lynch". The New York Times.
  2. ↑ Celarier, Michelle (July 28, 2020). "Henry Blodget Was Banned From the Financial Industry. So He Built a Financial Media Empire. | Institutional Investor". Institutional Investor. Retrieved September 9, 2025.
  3. ↑ "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.
  4. 1 2 "The Rehabilitation of Henry Blodget". The Motley Fool. November 24, 2004. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  5. ↑ "Report Card:Henry Blodget". TheStreet.com. Archived from the original on December 5, 2006. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  6. 1 2 Factual allegations as submitted by SEC
  7. ↑ "Vested Interest". PBS. Archived from the original on February 12, 2007. Retrieved January 30, 2007.
  8. ↑ "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.
  9. ↑ profile. "Henry Blodget". Slate Magazine. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  10. ↑ "Home". Silicon Alley Insider. Retrieved July 6, 2015.
  11. ↑ III, Harry Hurt (February 18, 2007). "Financial Advice From 'That Henry Blodget'". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved September 2, 2020.
  12. ↑ Bruell, Alexandra (November 14, 2023). "Insider Co-Founder Henry Blodget Steps Down as CEO Amid Strategy Shift". Wall Street Journal.
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