Ryan Cohen
Ryan Cohen | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1986 Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation(s) | Business leader, entrepreneur, activist investor |
| Years active | 2001–present |
| Known for | Founder of Chewy, chairman and CEO of GameStop, influential meme stock figure |
Ryan Cohen (born 1986) is a Canadian business leader, entrepreneur, and activist investor. He established the online retail company Chewy in 2011 and led it as CEO until 2018. Presently, Cohen holds the positions of chairman and CEO at GameStop.
Often referred to as the "Meme King," Cohen has played a pivotal role in shaping the meme stock phenomenon, particularly impacting GameStop's stock market prominence.
Early life
Cohen was raised in a Jewish household in Montreal. He chose not to pursue higher education, drawing inspiration from his father, who operated a glassware business. His father passed away in December 2019.
Career
At age 15, Cohen launched his initial venture by earning referral commissions from various e-commerce platforms. In 2011, when he was 25, he founded Chewy (initially called MrChewy), motivated by his experience shopping for his poodle, Tylee. He acknowledges his father Ted as a key mentor. Cohen designed Chewy’s logistics and supply chain systems with Amazon as a reference but distinguished the company through superior customer care, including personalized holiday notes and pet illustrations. Despite facing over 100 venture capital rejections, he secured $15 million from Volition Capital in 2013. By 2016, prominent investors such as BlackRock and T. Rowe Price New Horizons Fund had joined. That year, Chewy generated $900 million in revenue, establishing itself as the top online pet retailer. By 2017, Cohen had raised $350 million gearing up for an initial public offering.
In April 2017, PetSmart purchased Chewy for $3.35 billion—marking the largest e-commerce acquisition at that time—primarily due to Chewy’s loyal customer base and its comprehensive 24/7 customer support team. Cohen continued as CEO after the acquisition, managing Chewy as an independent division within PetSmart. Revenue rose to $3.5 billion in 2018, with recurring automatic shipments accounting for 66% of sales. Later that year, Cohen resigned as CEO to pursue personal interests. Chewy went public in June 2019 with a valuation of $8.7 billion.
Cohen joined GameStop’s board in January 2021 alongside two executives from Chewy and was named chairman to spearhead a company-wide overhaul. His appointment sparked a dramatic 1,500% surge in stock price fueled by a short squeeze event. Under his leadership, GameStop underwent major restructuring including executive turnover and recruitment of seasoned professionals from Amazon and Chewy for key leadership positions. He officially assumed the chairman role following the annual shareholder meeting.
On September 28, 2023, Cohen took on the additional role of Chief Executive Officer at GameStop while maintaining his chairmanship; notably, he does not draw a salary for either position.
Investments
After selling Chewy, Cohen made a significant investment in Apple, becoming its largest individual shareholder with ownership of 1.55 million shares (equivalent to 6.2 million post-split as of August 31, 2020).
In September 2020, Cohen revealed ownership of nearly 10% of GameStop shares, positioning him as the largest single investor. This stake grew to 12.9% by December 17, 2020, according to an amended SEC filing. His investment firm RC Ventures expressed intent to actively engage in enhancing shareholder value.
In March 2022, through RC Ventures LLC, Cohen acquired close to a 10% interest in Bed Bath & Beyond. Between August 15 and August 18 of that year, RC Ventures sold all its 9.45 million shares for an estimated profit of $68 million.
Continuing to build his position in GameStop, Cohen bought an additional 100,000 shares on March 22, 2022 (equivalent to 400,000 after stock split). On June 9, 2023, he further expanded his holdings by acquiring $10 million worth of shares totaling 443,842.
Cohen also owns a significant investment in Alibaba, valued at several hundred million dollars. In August 2023, he engaged with Alibaba’s board to advocate for an extension of their share buyback program; this initiative was subsequently prolonged through March 2025 and increased from $25 billion to $40 billion.
Besides these active stakes, Cohen retains substantial passive investments in Wells Fargo and Netflix.
Books
In 2022, Cohen released a children's book series called Teddy, which draws inspiration from the teachings of his father. He remarked, "My father, Ted Cohen, exemplified extraordinary dedication and the value of patience. Although he is no longer with us, his influence endures. These books are my way of conveying his principles and sharing his insights with my own children."
Political views
Cohen endorsed Donald Trump during the 2024 United States presidential election and advocated the unfounded claim that the 2020 election was manipulated.
Legal
On August 24, 2022, Cohen was implicated in a federal lawsuit accusing him of participating in a fraudulent scheme designed to artificially boost Bed Bath & Beyond's stock price through a pump and dump operation. The lawsuit was ultimately dismissed on June 11, 2024.
Personal life and wealth
By March 2025, Forbes assessed Ryan Cohen's net worth at $4.7 billion, whereas Maclean's estimated it at $5.6 billion.
External links
- Articles with short description
- Articles with hCards
- No local image but image on Wikidata
- Living people
- Canadian billionaires
- Canadian company founders
- Canadian investors
- 21st-century Canadian businesspeople
- Year of birth uncertain
- 21st-century Canadian Jews
- Businesspeople from Montreal
- 1986 births
- GameStop people
- People from Miami-Dade County, Florida