Hedge fund billionaire and owner of the New York Mets quit Twitter after GameStop backlash



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  • 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 he was shutting down his Twitter account after his family received threats amid the GME-buying frenzy led by Redditors.
  • Cohen’s hedge fund has lost nearly 15% this year and has since been criticized for its involvement in Melvin Capital, another hedge fund that has bet against GameStop.
  • Visit the Insider home page for more stories.

Steve Cohen, the billionaire hedge fund and owner of the New York Mets, disabled his Twitter account, claiming on Saturday his family had received threats amid a Reddit-fueled GameStop stock-buying spree.

“I really enjoyed the back and forth with Mets fans on Twitter, who were sadly overwhelmed this week by misinformation unrelated to the Mets which led to our family receiving 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 stay committed to doing it.”

Cohen and his $ 17.2 billion hedge fund Point72 Capital came under scrutiny for involvement in Melvin Capital Management, another hedge fund that gambled against GameStop and the Robinhood Frenzy .

Point72 has lost nearly 15% this year as individual investors push up shares of the video game retailer. The company’s losses are primarily the result of its $ 2.75 billion investment in Melvin Capital.

Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy took to Twitter on Thursday with Cohen and slammed the Mets owner for helping Melvin Capital recoup his losses.

“You bailed out Melvin because he’s your boy with Citadel. I think you played an important role in today’s criminal events,” Portnoy tweeted to Cohen.

Responding to criticism, Cohen has denied involvement with brokers who have halted trading and placed purchase restrictions. He told Portnoy he was “just trying to make a living.”

Cohen’s Twitter account was disabled on Friday evening.

“I love our team, this community and our fans, who are the best in baseball,” Cohen wrote in the press release. “In the end, the events of this week in no way affect our resources and our willingness to put a championship team on the field.”



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