Vlad Tenev
Vladimir Tenev | |
|---|---|
_(2)_(cropped).jpg) | |
| Born | 1986/1987 (age 33–34)[1] |
| Nationality | American, Bulgarian |
| Education | Stanford University (BA) |
| Occupation | Entrepreneur |
| Known for | Co-founder, Robinhood |
| Net worth | $1 billion |
| Children | 1 |
Vladimir Tenev (Bulgarian: Владимир Тенев; born 1986 or 1987)[1] is a Bulgarian-American billionaire entrepreneur who was the co-founder (with Baiju Bhatt) and CEO of Robinhood, a US-based financial services company.
Early life[edit]
Tenev was born in Bulgaria, and his parents migrated to the U.S. when he was five.[2] His parents both worked for the World Bank.[3] He attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology[4] in Fairfax County, Virginia.
He earned a degree in mathematics from Stanford University, where he met Baiju Bhatt.[1] He studied for a mathematics PhD at UCLA, but dropped out to work with Bhatt.[3][5]
Career[edit]
In 2010, Tenev and Bhatt started a high-frequency trading company called Celeris. By January 2011 they abandoned it to create Chronos Research, which sold low-latency software to other trading firms and banks.[6]
In 2013, Tenev and Bhatt co-founded the trading platform Robinhood.[1] Following a funding round in May 2018 which increased Robinhood's valuation to $6 billion, Tenev and Bhatt became billionaires.[1][7]
GameStop short squeeze[edit]
On January 28, 2021, Tenev defended Robinhood's decision to prevent users from buying stock or options in a variety of securities, notably GameStop, during the GameStop short squeeze;[8][9][10][11] the decision had sparked widespread criticism from users of the app as well as politicians in both major American parties.[12] On February 18, 2021, Tenev testified before the United States House Committee on Financial Services regarding Robinhood's role during the GameStop short squeeze.[13][14] Tenev came under heavy criticism from members of both parties and was criticized for struggling to provide answers to a number of questions.[15][16][17]
In the aftermath of the GameStop event, Tenev was interviewed by Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy, who called Tenev "a rat and a liar."[18]
Awards and recognition[edit]
Tenev was included in a Forbes' 30 Under 30 list in 2013.[19] He was invited to be the keynote speaker at UCLA's 2019 Math Commencement Ceremony.[20]
References[edit]
- ^ a b c d e "Robinhood Founders Are Billionaires in Silicon Valley Minute". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "The founders of Robinhood, a no-fee stock-trading app, were initially rejected by 75 venture capitalists — now their startup is worth $1.3 billion". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ a b "Vlad Tenev, 28". Forbes. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Thomas Jefferson HS. "Thomas Jefferson HS". Twitter.
- ^ Ongchoco, David (12 August 2015). "Startup Insider: The Story Behind Stock Trading App Robinhood and Its One Million-Person Waitlist". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ "Win the Stock Market with Crowd Sourced Advice from New App Robinhood".
- ^ "Meet the 11 new tech billionaires that emerged in 2018". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
- ^ Reuters Staff (2021-01-29). "Robinhood CEO says limited trade to protect firm and customers". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ "Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev speaks out on decision to restrict trading on GameStop and other stocks". CNBC. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ "Robinhood CEO Says Trading Limits Will Protect Firm, Customers". Bloomberg.com. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ Robinhood CEO speaks on controversy after GameStop stock chaos - CNN Video, retrieved 2021-01-29
- ^ "Robinhood founder Vlad Tenev says app blocked GameStop buys to "protect investors"". Newsweek. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
- ^ Popper, Nathaniel. "Grilled in the hearing, Robinhood's chief apologizes for limiting GameStop trades". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ Collins, Eliza (February 18, 2021). "Who Are Keith Gill and Other Key Players at the GameStop Hearing?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
- ^ Popper, Nathaniel; Phillips, Matt (2021-02-18). "In GameStop Saga, Robinhood Is Cast as the Villain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- ^ "Under fire, Robinhood CEO apologizes to Congress for restricting trading". NBC News. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Karaian, Jason; Merced, Michael J. de la; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (2021-02-19). "'Something Very Wrong Happened Here'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
- ^ Williams, Annabelle. "'I think he's a rat and a liar': Watch Dave Portnoy and Vlad Tenev's heated Robinhood debate". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-03-27.
- ^ Vardi, Nathan (January 4, 2016). "30 Under 30 Finance: The Top Young Traders, Bankers And Dealmakers". Forbes. Retrieved 11 January 2019.
- ^ "2019 Math Commencement Keynote Speaker: Vladimir Tenev". UCLA. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
External links[edit]
Media related to Vladimir Tenev at Wikimedia Commons
