Meet The NYC High School Student Who's Rumored To Have Made Millions Trading Oil And Gold Futures

Photo courtesy of Mohammed Islam

New York Magazine's Jessica Pressler reports that Stuyvesant High School senior Mohammed "Mo" Islam is rumored amongst his friends and classmates to have made $72 million trading the stock market. 

While having caviar and apple juice with his buddies, Islam admitted to Pressler that his net-worth is in the "high eight figures." Later that day, he was going to meet a hedge funder who "basically wants to give us $150 million." 

At only 17, Islam has already rented an apartment in New York, but his parents won't let him stay there until he turns 18. He also bought a BMW even though he doesn't have his license yet. 

We profiled Islam about a year ago as a member of our "20 under 20" in finance when we noticed a trend amongst teenagers trading the market.  

Here's what he told us then: 

Location: New York, New York 

Investing Style: My main markets now are Crude Oil futures and Gold futures and I trade small to mid-cap equities when the futures don't present a good trade. I trade mainly based on volatility and volume. My strategy revolves around price-action trading and some macro. 

Favorite Book: Reminiscences of A Stock Operator by Edwin Lefevre

Role Model: "I would have to say that Paul Tudor Jones is a really big inspiration to me because of his determination and talent. Mr. Jones' personality and technique are what make him so successful and I aspire to become even 1% of the man he is. He went through obstacles, yet still came out on top." 

Major Accomplishment:  "When I learned that I needed discipline, a strategy that had been back tested, and enough capital, I buckled down and made sure I didn't make one more trade until I had done that. I traded using my plan and didn't go astray and followed the cardinal rule of minimizing losses and maximizing profits. This made me profitable and to this day I look upon that as a major goal I accomplished."

Future Plans: My future plan consists of becoming a hedge fund manager. I plan to hopefully attend a finance-oriented college after graduating from Stuy and major in finance and economics. My main future plan is to continue trading, learn from the best, and hopefully be able to find a mentor who is a great trader. 

Perhaps he'll start a fund out of his college dorm room, too.