Steve Cohen

Ali Castrovillari

Business In Society

John Dunn

24 October 2015

Steven Cohen

        The Wall Street legend, Steven Cohen once said, “There's something to be said for giving and helping to change people's lives.” On June 11, 1956 Steve Cohen was born in New York and grew up in a Jewish family. His father was a garment manufacturer for his company Minerva Fashions, and had made seven-dollar dresses for JCPenny and Sears at the Bronx Factory. His mother was a part-time piano teacher. Steven is the third oldest of seven other brother and sisters. Cohen starred in soccer and was a point guard on the basketball team at Great Neck North. Unlike most high school students, in ninth grade, Cohen found his first passion, poker. Cohen said the stakes started at fifty cents a night and by tenth grade, you could lose or win a thousand dollars a night. Cohen did not play poker for the money; he played for the adrenaline, the risks and the competition. Cohen attended the University of Pennsylvania, and was in Zeta Beta Tau, where he continued his hobby of poker. During his freshmen year he was already dreading classes and decided to watch the green digital numbers of New York Stock Exchange glide by in the window outside a Merrill Lynch office. His career began when he was asked in the office where Merrill brokers answered his questions, but realized they were lousy tips and he started using his skills to develop his own style.

        In 1978, Cohen graduated from college six months early, and took a job offered by a friend of a friend at Gruntal &Co. his first job was option arbitrage, and he studied stocks all day even when the other brokers went home. When he played stocks on the side he realized he was becoming so good he should just buy them instead of hedging them. After the second year he made about a million dollars, and in his mid 20s he was making between five and ten million a year. He style of taping reading is incredible and he says, “there’s kind of an art to reading the tape.” After Steven threw everything into this job his wife had divorced him and he became depressed. Soon enough, he met his wife of 18 years, Alex. They now have four daughters together. In 1991 Cohen now 35, was ready for change when Gruntal executives limited his capital to $50 million.