What is Baiju Bhatt Net Worth?
Baiju Bhatt is an Indian-American entrepreneur with a net worth of $600 million. He is renowned for co-founding the online trading company Robinhood with Vladamir Tenev. The platform aimed to democratize finance and investing.
Early Life
Born in 1984 to Indian immigrant parents, Bhatt's family hails from Gujarat, India. He spent his childhood in Poquoson, Virginia. Bhatt graduated from Stanford University, majoring in physics, followed by a master's degree in mathematics in 2008. It was during his time at Stanford that he built a strong friendship with Vladamir Tenev, leading to the inception of Robinhood.
Career
After earning his degrees, Baiju Bhatt worked with various financial institutions in New York, gaining experience in high-frequency trading platforms. Leveraging their expertise and inspired by witnessing economic disparities, Bhatt and Tenev envisioned an online trading platform with zero commission fees, which became Robinhood.
The 2008 financial collapse and the Occupy Wall Street protests in 2011 heavily influenced Bhatt's drive to make stock trading accessible to the average person. By 2013, Bhatt and Tenev officially founded Robinhood. The platform's core mission was to democratize financial markets for all. By 2016, it had attracted a million users due to its referral program.
(Photo by Steve Jennings/Getty Images)
Robinhood's growth was immense, reaching 3 million users by 2018 and significantly increasing Bhatt's personal wealth and the company's valuation to $6 billion. Bhatt announced plans for an IPO by 2019. Trading on Robinhood surged in 2020 despite the stock market crash, leading to $280 million in venture funding and a valuation increase to $8.3 billion. By 2021, Robinhood had over 13 million registered users.
Controversies
Robinhood faced numerous controversies, from 'payment for order flow' to significant outages. One tragic incident involved Alexander Kearns, who committed suicide due to a significant balance error in his account. The Kearns family later sued Robinhood.
The Gamestop stock fiasco of 2021 was another major controversy. When traders on Reddit collectively increased Gamestop's value, Robinhood restricted trading on the stock. Critics viewed this as market manipulation favoring hedge funds that had shorted Gamestop, ironically conflicting with Robinhood's mission to empower everyday investors.
