After restricting GameStop ( πΊ π πΈ πΊ π πΈ ) stock purchases in January 2021 due to surging collateral requirements, Robinhood faced massive user backlash, intense regulatory scrutiny, and congressional hearings. The platform had to raise over $ 1 $ 1 billion in emergency capital to meet clearinghouse demands, and later paid $ 70 $ 7 0 million in fines and settlements.
But the day after GameStop reached its peak, Robinhood abruptly restricted trading in some meme stocks, claiming that it had been forced to do so by a liquidity crunch, Wall Street rules and clearinghouse limits. The restrictions caused the stocks to plunge, prompting lawsuits, congressional hearings and an S.E.C.
Robinhood has major catalysts
Robinhood's business is expected to keep growing as new products start to mature. The average estimate is that its annual revenue in 2025 was $4.53 billion, up by 53% YoY, while its earnings-per-share rose to $2.03, up from $1.56.
Dozens of class action lawsuits have been filed against Robinhood in U.S. courts, and the U.S. House Committee on Financial Services held a congressional hearing on the incident.
Vlad Tenev, the current CEO of Robinhood, lost his billionaire status and approximately $4.28 billion in money and assets after the GameStop short squeeze events. Baiju Bhatt, co-founder of Robinhood, stepped down as co-ceo but still holds the position of Chief Creative Officer and Director.
Bhatt served alongside Mr. Tenev as our co-CEO and co-President. From 2021 to March 2024, Mr. Bhatt served as Chief Creative Officer of Robinhood Markets, Inc.
Even the stories of some of the traders Dumb Money was based on, and who I talked to for this story, are far from cut and dried. Some big names lost money on GameStop, but others made a bundle. The same goes for everyday investors β some won, some lost, and plenty were just in it for the casino-like ride.
The value of your shares may also drop. However, if the company delisted voluntarily because it is going private or being merged with another company, you might receive cash for your shares or shares in the purchasing company. Understanding the reason for the delisting and how it may affect your shares can be helpful.
Robinhood has also successfully attracted an expanding base of customers, with the number of funded customers rising 10% to 26.8 million in the most recent quarter. And those investors are lucrative, generating average revenue per user (ARPU) of $191, an increase of 82% from the year-ago quarter.
Michael Burry made approximately $100 million personally and generated over $700 million for his investors by shorting the U.S. housing market, a move that paid off spectacularly during the 2008 financial crisis, with his firm Scion Capital realizing huge returns like 489% between 2000 and June 2008.
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As the shares were borrowed, the short-seller must eventually return that number of shares to the lender (plus interest and dividends, if any), and therefore makes a profit if they spend less buying back the shares than they received at the earlier date when selling them.
For Robinhood Strategies managed accounts, there will be a settlement period before cash is available for withdrawal anytime the withdrawal request exceeds the cash balance in the account. This is because Robinhood Strategies has to sell assets to raise enough cash to satisfy the request.
Having $25,000 in Robinhood in a margin account unlocks the ability to day trade freely under the FINRA Pattern Day Trader (PDT) rule, removing restrictions for frequent trades, and may also grant access to margin (borrowed funds) for greater buying power, but it also increases risk and requires maintaining that balance, as dropping below $25,000 after being flagged can lead to a 90-day trading restriction.
The $100 fee on Robinhood is for an outbound Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS), charged when you move your entire investment account (stocks, ETFs, cash) to another brokerage firm, covering administrative costs. It's a standard industry fee, debited from your Robinhood cash, and isn't for normal trading or standard withdrawals.Β
The rising stock value allowed Gill to turn an initial US$53,000 investment into $50 million by January 2021. Between 2021β2024, Gill kept a low profile but continued to increase his GameStop ownership.
Gill's belief in GameStop didn't just make him famousβit made him incredibly wealthy. After exercising his call options, Gill still holds 9,001,000 shares of GameStop. At today's price of $29.70 per share, those shares are worth about $267 million.
Yes, Baiju Bhatt is a billionaire, co-founder of the Robinhood trading app, and was listed as one of the youngest billionaires on the 2025 Forbes 400 list with a net worth estimated at around $6.9 billion, largely from his significant stake in Robinhood.
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Actor, director and producer Pooja Bhatt, known for her candid and articulate nature, is now channelling that gift into hosting her podcast, The Pooja Bhatt Show. With this project, she promises to go beyond the glitter and dive into the lesser-seen layers of the entertainment industry.