The Sound of Someone Else Getting Rich
I was IM-ing my coworker this afternoon after coming home from the office early and she began telling me about hearing the visitor in the next cube talking with his stockbroker. A little background first: Our company went public in the last few years and the IPO came out around $10 (I’m using fake but relevant numbers for the math). In the last few months, the stock has been doing well and has tripled since the IPO.
So, the “man from Alabama”, who appeared to be in his 30s, apparently bought at least 24,000 shares of the IPO at $10 way back then, and decided to sell those 24,000 shares today, within earshot of my coworker. She could hear every word over the phone as well due to the speaker volume.
The guy had his wife/fiance/mistress on another phone while trying to make the sell. He put a limit at $30 (again, fake number, but it was a real $20 profit per share) and in the span of just a few minutes made a $480,000 profit (minus applicable taxes and commissions). My coworker melted as she only had the foresight to buy 3000 shares at IPO. I on the other hand, didn’t buy any. Boo me!
As the call concluded, my coworker heard the female loudly say “I LOVE YOU BABY!”. Well I would love him too if he just made enough to pay off our house, all our debt and have enough left over for a nice vacation, savings and other investments.
WOW! I couldn’t imagine what I would do if I overheard a conversation like that!
Nice! No one around my cube is getting rich. That’s why they all pitch in for lottery tickets when the jackpot gets high….
The beauty of the stock market…a rare occurrence I’m sure, but I love stories like that.
if i heard it, i would have been nice and vulgar telling the person to hush.
Everything on red 23, eh?
I can remember several stock picks of mine which in retrospect went up by 400-800% making me wish that I had put more in. On the other hand, I also have a few picks that eventually declared bankruptcy.
I still don’t have the nerve to put $240k on a single bet, but wouldn’t it be fantastic if it worked out?!
Like ERE, I wouldn’t have the guts (or even be able to) put $240,000 in a single stock. But yay for them that it paid out. Hopefully they can use the money wisely.
Ouch, loss profit of 0.5 million
but no way I am putting $240K cash on 1 stock either, that guy is insane. Imagine if your company stock price is $1 now, his wife would’ve divorced him =P
Now waiting for my company to go IPO, which is probably never.
This serves as a good reminder that cubicles really aren’t all that private. We’d better watch what we say when we’re on the phone. You never know who’s listening.
sure he may have made that much, but what is he going to do with the money? If he blows it, in th e end he doesn’t come out ahead. personally, if you believe in the company you work with and the company is doing well, then why would you sell? Now, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t sell from time to time to take profits.
as far as looking back: it’s worthless. if you didn’t buy any, then it isn’t money you had to begin with.
my guess, the guy in the 30s that sold, will be flat broke and/or already in debt.