To: Qualified Opinion who wrote (12854 ) 12/15/2014 11:54:37 PM From: joseffy Respond to New York Mag’s Boy Genius Investor Made It All Up admits he invented the whole story Ken Kurson | 12/15/14observer.com It’s been a tough month for factchecking. After the Rolling Stone campus rape story unraveled, readers of all publications can be forgiven for questioning the process by which Americans get our news. And now it turns out that another blockbuster story is —to quote its subject in an exclusive Observer interview—”not true.” irresistible story about a Stuyvesant High senior named Mohammed Islam who had made a fortune investing in the stock market. Reporter Jessica Pressler wrote regarding the precise number, “Though he is shy about the $72 million number, he confirmed his net worth is in the “’high eight figures.’” The New York Post followed up with a story of its own, with the fat figure playing a key role in the headline: “ High school student scores $72M playing the stock market .” now it turns out, the real number is … zero. Observer: What was your first contact with the New York magazine reporter? New York magazine and he had the reporter contact me. Then she [Jessica Pressler] called me.You seem to be quoted saying “eight figures.” That’s not true, is it? Is there ANY figure? Have you invested and made returns at all? So it’s total fiction? Are you interested in investing? How did you get this reputation? If you had been playing with real money, would you have done really well? Where did Jessica Pressler come up with the $72 million figure? She said ‘have you made $72 million’? At this point the PR reps jumped in with Law & Order style objections. A conference outside the room ensued. Back into the room came Mr. Islam. Damir, tell me where you fit into this. But you guys are pals outside of this? Are you into stockpicking as well? Mohammed, you’re from Queens and you go to this elite public high school. Is this a hobby of your parents as well or would you be the first person in your family to pursue high finance? So what did your parents think when they’re reading that you’ve got $72 million? You haven’t? Where did you sleep last night? Are your friends blowing up your phones? Where do you go from here? New York has now altered its headline to back away from the $72 million figure but the story itself remains. Even if this working-class kid had somehow started with $100,000 as a high school freshman on day one at Stuy High, he’d have needed to average a compounded annualized return of something like 796% over the three years since. C’mon, man.New York , which placed Mr. Islam’s alleged acumen at No. 12 in its 10th annual “Reasons to Love New York” issue. Ms. Pressler quoted him saying, “It’s not just about money. We want to create a brotherhood. Like, all of us who are connected, who are in something together, who have influence, like the Koch brothers …” Yep, nothing says success—or search engine optimization—quite like “Koch brothers.”New York and the New York Post probably should have, as well. This story smelled fishy the instant it appeared and a quick dance with the calculator probably would have saved these young men—and a couple reporters—some embarrassment.observer.com @newyorkobserver on Twitter | newyorkobserver on Facebook
