Keith Gill, Known Online as Roaring Kitty, Is Largely Credited for Spiking the GameStop Surge in Late 2020
Reviewed by Samantha SilbersteinFact checked by Suzanne Kvilhaug
Keith Gill is a former financial analyst who is largely credited with spiking the GameStop surge in late 2020 using his YouTube account (as Roaring Kitty) and on Reddit (as DeepF—ingValue, or DFV).
Key Takeaways
- Keith Gill learned about investing and became convinced that GameStop stock was undervalued, sharing this belief with others on Twitter (now X) with the handle RoaringKitty.
- He initially purchased $53,000 worth of GameStop stock in 2019.
- At the height of the GameStop surge, Gill’s stock was valued at $48 million.
- Gill retreated from public life in 2021, with no indication of what he’s doing now.
Investopedia / Julie Bang
Early Life and Education
Gill was born in 1986 in Brockton, Mass., the son of Steven, a truck driver, and Elaine, a registered nurse. He attended Brockton High School before going on to study accounting at Stonehill College in Easton.
As a teenager, Gill became a cross-country and track and field athlete, and found great success in both high school and college. During his college athletic career, he earned All-America honors for cross-country and indoor and outdoor track and field, the only male athlete at the school to do so thus far. In 2016, Gill was inducted into the college’s Hall of Fame.
After graduating in 2009, Gill went to work for a family friend, who was running a startup company in New Hampshire building a software program for analyzing stocks and providing research. He left that job in 2014, and had a spotty work history until 2019, when he began work at MassMutual as the director of financial wellness education.
Notable Accomplishments
Gill joined Twitter (now X) in 2014 using the handle RoaringKitty, where he shared his method for “hunting stocks and pouncing on investment opportunities,” per his Twitter/X bio. He noted his insights were “for educational purposes only.”
Gill began posting on YouTube in 2015 using the same handle (RoaringKitty), where he posted videos and livestreams sharing his “daily routine of tracking stocks and performing investment research,” again for educational purposes only. Gill also joined Reddit in 2019 under the DFV handle, and he routinely posted in the WallStreetBets community.
He used these social networks to share his thoughts on GameStop stock, saying he thought it was undervalued. In 2019, he purchased $53,000 worth of stock, and as he continued posting about the stock, others joined him, leading to a rapid rise in the stock’s price. When GameStop’s stock price peaked at $483 per share in January 2021, Gill’s investment was valued at nearly $48 million. At that time, Gill resigned from MassMutual.
Gill’s identity was revealed shortly thereafter by Reuters, who identified Gill using public records for a short-lived company that Gill had named Roaring Kitty. Those records showed the same name and email as his YouTube account. On the same day, the Daily Mail also used public records to identify Gill as the man behind the Roaring Kitty and DFV accounts.
In February 2021, Gill testified to Congress about his role in the GameStop stock saga, stating that he thought the stock, which he said he liked, was “dramatically undervalued.” Although Gill was the target of a class action lawsuit filed in federal court in Massachusetts, accused of causing “huge losses” for small investors and violating securities laws, the suit was dismissed.
‘Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga’ and ‘Dumb Money’
In September 2022, Netflix released “Eat the Rich: The GameStop Saga,” a docuseries that spotlighted the David vs. Goliath nature of Gill and his fellow retail traders (everyday people who trade stocks) going against giant hedge funds that had shorted GameStop.
That has now been followed up by “Dumb Money,” released in September 2023 by Sony Pictures. The movie follows Gill’s journey from the time he first purchases GameStop stock to when the stock peaks and the hedge funds crash.
Where Is Keith Gill Now?
It’s unclear where Gill is now. He and his wife, Caroline, were living with their daughter in Wilmington, Mass., but Gill has not posted on any of his social accounts since 2021. It’s also not clear if Gill sold off his GameStop stock and cashed in on his risky move.
What Happened to Roaring Kitty?
Roaring Kitty, who has been revealed to be Keith Gill, went dormant in 2021. There have been no new posts to his accounts until May 12, 2024, when he posted a meme of a person playing video games leaning forward in his chair, followed by two more posts the day after of other memes indicating his return to the online social world.
What Is Keith Gill’s Net Worth?
There are estimates that Gill’s net worth is approximately $30 million, but there is no confirmation from Gill, nor are there any other public records to confirm that figure.
How Much Money Did Keith Gill Make on GameStop?
It’s not clear. In April 2021, Gill posted a spreadsheet on Reddit showing his GameStop stock was worth approximately $34 million. However, there are no records to say if that is still correct.
The Bottom Line
Keith Gill was revealed to be the man behind the Roaring Kitty and DFV social media accounts who, in 2019, shared his belief that GameStop stock was undervalued. He went on to invest $53,000 of his own money in GameStop stock, which was once valued at approximately $48 million as the stock price peaked.
Gill dropped out of public life in 2021 after testifying before Congress about his role in the GameStop stock saga. It’s unclear what he is doing today, or if he still owns his GameStop stock.
Read the original article on Investopedia.