Henry Blodget

Henry Blodget
Born	Template:Birth year and age Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
Occupation(s)	Entrepreneur, investor, journalist
Years active	1994–present
Known for	Co-founder and ex-CEO of Business Insider; Internet analyst at CIBC Oppenheimer and Merrill Lynch

Henry McKelvey Blodget (born 1966) is a prominent American entrepreneur, investor, and journalist. He first gained recognition as a leading Internet analyst at CIBC Oppenheimer and later as the head of the global Internet research division at Merrill Lynch during the height of the dot-com era. The U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission charged Blodget with civil securities fraud, resulting in a settlement. He is also known as the co-founder and ex-CEO of Business Insider.

Early life and education

Raised on Manhattan's Upper East Side, Blodget is the son of a commercial banker. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy before earning a Bachelor of Arts degree in history from Yale University, where he was a member of The Society of Orpheus and Bacchus. Following graduation, he spent time teaching English in Japan and then relocated to San Francisco to pursue writing, supporting himself by offering tennis lessons. During this period, he also worked as a freelance journalist and proofreader for Harper's Magazine.

Investment career

Blodget began his professional journey in 1994 by joining Prudential Securities' corporate finance training program. Two years later, he transitioned to Oppenheimer & Co. in an equity research capacity. In October 1998, he made a notable prediction that Amazon’s stock price, then at $240, would climb to $400 within a year—a forecast that materialized within weeks, attracting considerable media coverage. Shortly thereafter, he moved to Merrill Lynch and became a regular commentator on CNBC.

Just prior to the collapse of the dot-com bubble in early 2000, Blodget invested $700,000 of his own funds into technology stocks but suffered substantial losses over the following years. He accepted a buyout offer from Merrill Lynch and departed the firm in 2001. Subsequently, he faced civil securities fraud charges connected to his tenure at Merrill Lynch.

Fraud allegation and settlement

In 2003, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filed civil securities fraud charges against Blodget. He resolved these allegations by paying $4 million without admitting or denying wrongdoing. The SEC, along with NASD and NYSE authorities, imposed a permanent ban preventing him from participating in the securities industry.

The accusations stemmed from activities between 1999 and 2001 at Merrill Lynch, where Blodget allegedly issued research reports on internet companies containing materially misleading information and made overstated claims to clients.

Writing

Following his departure from financial markets after settling with the SEC, Blodget returned to financial journalism and took on the role of CEO at Cherry Hill Research, a consulting enterprise. He has contributed articles to Slate, Newsweek International, The New York Times, Fortune, Forbes Online, Business 2.0, Euromoney, New York magazine, and The Financial Times. His pieces for Slate include comprehensive disclosures regarding potential conflicts of interest.

In 2007, Blodget co-founded Business Insider (initially named Silicon Alley Insider) and served as its inaugural CEO and editor-in-chief. That year also saw the publication of his book, The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A Consumer's Guide to Intelligent Investing.

In 2014, Jeff Bezos acquired an ownership stake in Business Insider. In November 2023, Blodget resigned from his CEO position amid a strategic transformation at the company. Since then, he has ceased contributing to Slate, Newsweek, or New York magazine.

Internet broadcasting

Blodget previously served as a co-host alongside Aaron Task on the Daily-Ticker program featured on Yahoo! Finance.

Bibliography

• The Wall Street Self-Defense Manual: A Consumer's Guide to Intelligent Investing. Atlas Books, 2007. .

External links

• Silicon Alley Insider – Technology blog with multiple contributors, led by Henry Blodget
• Business Insider – Current editorial platform managed by Blodget
• – Official promotional website for Blodget's initial publication