10-year-old boy in Texas sells his GameStop stocks for a 5,000% profit

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Category: Business

Listening

Unlocking Word Meanings

Read the following words/expressions found in today’s article.

  1. make a killing / meɪk ə ˈkɪl ɪŋ / (idiom) – to earn a large profit in a short amount of time
    Example:

    The company made a killing when they released their new product.


  2. Kwanzaa / ˈkwɑn zə / (n) – a festival celebrated in the U.S. by some African-American communities from December 26 to January 1
    Example:

    She decorated her house for Kwanzaa.


  3. skyrocket / ˈskaɪˌrɒk ɪt / (v) – to rapidly rise or increase
    Example:

    Unemployment rates have skyrocketed since the Covid-19 pandemic began.


  4. chatter / ˈtʃæt ər / (n) – casual talk about things that are not important 
    Example:

    It’s hard to focus in my office because of all the chatter, so I usually wear headphones.


  5. funds / fʌndz / (n) – money that is available
    Example:

    I want to go on a trip abroad, but I’m low on funds at the moment.


Article

Read the text below.

A 10-year-old boy in San Antonio, Texas, made a killing by selling GameStop stock on Jan. 27. Jaydyn Carr sold his 10 shares of the stock for more than 50 times their original price.


His mother, Nina, bought the shares for $60 (¥6,300) in December 2019. She gave them to Jaydyn for Kwanzaa to reflect Ujamaa, one of the festival’s seven principles. Ujamaa focuses on cooperative economics.


In recent weeks, GameStop’s share price has skyrocketed, driven by chatter on a Reddit chat group. Jaydyn sold the shares for a little less than $3,200 (¥340,000), according to the San Antonio Express News.


As Nina saw the share price surge, she asked Jaydyn, “Do you want to stay or sell?” Jaydyn sold.


Nina said $2,200 (¥230,000) of the funds would go to Jaydyn’s savings account. They will put the other $1,000 (¥110,000) toward future investing. (AP)


This article was provided by The Japan Times Alpha.


Viewpoint Discussion

Enjoy a discussion with your tutor.

Discussion A

  • Nina gave Jaydyn the GameStop shares as a Kwanzaa present. When you were a child, how would you have felt about receiving shares as a present? Why? Discuss.
  • Nina let Jaydyn decide whether to stay or sell. If you were Nina, would you have let your child decide, or would you have made the decision yourself? Why? Discuss.
  • Nina and Jaydyn said that they’re going to save some of the money and put the rest towards future investing. Do you agree that this is the best use of the money? Why or why not? Discuss.

Discussion B

  • GameStop’s share price skyrocketed due to chatter on a Reddit chat group. If you had seen that chat group, would you have invested in GameStop, or would you have thought it was a scam? Why? Discuss.
  • Do you think that the stock market is a good way to make money? Why or why not? Discuss.
  • If you had a time machine, what companies’ stock would you go back and buy (ex. Google, Apple)? Why? Discuss.