Today’s guest on episode 153 is Sheelah Kolhatkar. She writes for The New Yorker. Sheelah previously worked as a journalist at Bloomberg Businessweek, and as a hedge fund analyst before that.
I wanted Sheelah to come on the podcast because she also happened to have written a New York Times bestseller book called Black Edge: Inside Information, Dirty money and the Quest to Bring Down the Most Wanted Man on Wall Street.
The most wanted man that book title refers to is the hedge fund legend Steven Cohen of S.A.C Capital Advisors. Sheelah has definitely become very familiar with because of her extensive research.
In my conversation with Sheelah, she gives some insight into where Steven started out and how he ended up being an ultra-wealthy multi-billionaire, with, might I add an elaborate art collection. She also talks about how S.A.C. was the the target of one of history’s greatest insider trading investigations and how it ultimately played out.
I hope you enjoy this week’s episode. If you want to find out more, definitely grab a copy of Sheelah’s book.
Ok, let’s get to it. Coming from New York City, here is Sheelah Kolhatkar.
What’s Covered in This Interview:
- The one incident where Sheelah met Steven Cohen at a high profile art auction. His intention was to sell one of his pieces, but ended up buying a $141,000,000 sculpture instead.
- Sheelah’s description of Steven’s upbringing, his education, as well as his first job on Wall Street.
- Sheelah’s insight into how Steven made millions of dollars trading the tape in newly formed options market.
- S.A.C’s fate and how one of the great insider trading investigations ended.
- How an S.A.C. researcher ended up befriending a doctor to get inside information about profits and drug trials, as well as the point where people started to get suspicious.
Links and Resources:
- Black Edge – Grab the book on Amazon
- To Catch A Trader
- @SheelahK – Follow Sheelah on Twitter
