- Steve Cohen is the founder of Point72 Capital, a $ 17.2 billion hedge fund, and owner of the New York Mets.
- In a press release, Cohen announced that he is deactivating his Twitter account after his family received threats amid the GME shopping frenzy led by Redditors.
- Cohen’s hedge fund has lost nearly 15% this year and has since been criticized for its involvement with Melvin Capital, another hedge fund that bet against GameStop.
- Visit the Insider home page for more stories.
Steve Cohen, the hedge fund billionaire and owner of the New York Mets, deactivated his Twitter account, saying on Saturday that his family received threats amid a frenzy to buy GameStop stock fueled by Reddit.
“I really enjoyed coming and going with Mets fans on Twitter, which unfortunately was overcome this week by incorrect information unrelated to Mets that led our family to receive personal threats,” Cohen wrote in a press release. “So I’m going to take a break for now. We have other ways to listen to your suggestions and remain committed to doing so.”
Cohen and his $ 17.2 billion hedge fund Point72 Capital were examined for their involvement with Melvin Capital Management, another hedge fund that bet against GameStop and Robinhood’s frenzy.
Point72 lost nearly 15% this year, with individual investors increasing the shares of the video game retailer. The company’s losses are predominantly the result of its $ 2.75 billion investment in Melvin Capital.
On Thursday, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy started a Twitter discussion with Cohen and criticized the Mets owner for helping Melvin Capital to cushion its losses.
“You saved Melvin because he is your son with Citadel. I think you had a strong influence on today’s criminal events,” Portnoy tweeted to Cohen.
—Dave Portnoy (@stoolpresidente) January 30, 2021
In response to criticism, Cohen denied his involvement with brokers who interrupted trading and imposed buying restrictions. He told Portnoy that he is “just trying to make a living”.
Cohen’s Twitter account was disabled on Friday night.
“I love our team, this community and our fans, who are the best in baseball,” Cohen wrote in the press release. “The main point is that this week’s events in no way affect our resources and motivation to put a champion team on the field.”