Top 10 Things Dumb Money Got Factually Right and Wrong

Right
Although the filmmakers tried contacting Gill, the financial analyst who sparked the short squeeze maintained his privacy. Based on public records, though, the movie’s portrayal of Gill is mostly spot on. Going by Roaring Kitty on YouTube and DFV on Reddit, Gill initially invested $53,000 in GameStop. Often sporting a red headband and adorning his background with spreadsheets, Gill drew social media to the stock. At the time, Gill was working for MassMutual, resigning on January 28, 2021. He’s also an avid runner as the film depicts, setting track and field records at Stonehill College (although it’s unclear if he ever ran naked). Gill’s investment peaked at $48 million, but his net worth has been estimated at $30 million since leaving the public eye.

Wrong
The subreddit WallStreetBets became synonymous with GameStop, drastically raising the struggling retailer’s stock. While the film revolves around this shock squeeze, WallStreetBets took interest in a few other companies that had been hit hard. Five days after Redditors jumped on the GameStop bandwagon, they attempted to give AMC the same treatment. In late May 2021, AMC exceeded GameStop as WallStreetBets’ most popular stock. Bed Bath & Beyond, BlackBerry, Nokia, and Tootsie Roll are just some of the other brands that’ve been impacted by the meme stock phenomenon. It made sense for “Dumb Money” to focus on GameStop, which started this trend and has shaken up Wall Street the most. If these other short squeezes are any indication, though, GameStop was only the tip of the iceberg.

Right
Vincent D’Onofrio portrays Steve Cohen, owner of the New York Mets and founder of the hedge fund Point72. Along with fellow hedge fund manager Kenneth Griffin, Cohen invested in Gabe Plotkin’s Melvin Capital amid the GameStop short squeeze. It seemed like pocket change to Cohen, who’s depicted as so loaded that he feeds his pig table scraps. Indeed, Cohen had a pet hog named Romeo, who he let roam around his 35,000-square-foot, 30-room Connecticut mansion. Romeo was basically a family member, even having his own room. However, the 150-pound pig reportedly got so large that Cohen sent him to live in a Florida animal sanctuary in 2015. Although this was about six years before the movie’s events, Romeo still lived better than most people.

Right
As the film depicts, Keith Gill was married with a young child when the GameStop saga commenced. He has a brother named Kevin, who did work for DoorDash (although he denies ever stealing Keith’s car). Keith and Kevin lost their sister Sara Gill on June 25, 2020, at age 43. The movie mentions that her death was unexpected, but it doesn’t delve into how Sara died. This information is notably omitted from Sara’s obituary. Her family likely wanted to keep these details private with the filmmakers respecting their wishes. What we can tell you is that Sara worked as a high school disability support paraprofessional and cashier. “Dumb Money” also neglects to mention that Sara left behind three kids, who now live with her parents.

Right
While GameStop marked a significant chapter in Wall Street history, it wasn’t the first time that David took on Goliath. In 1923, Wall Street staged a bear raid against the supermarket chain Piggly Wiggly. Founder Clarence Saunders sought to increase Piggly Wiggly’s price by purchasing much of his company’s stock, taking out a $10 million loan. Within a few months, the stock went from $39 to $124. Although Saunders had seemingly beaten Wall Street, the New York Stock Exchange intervened, suspending and later permanently blocking trading of Piggly Wiggly stock. This allowed the short sellers to recover while Saunders fell into bankruptcy. In “Dumb Money,” Gabe Plotkin applies this story to GameStop, confident it’ll meet the same fate. The difference? Reddit didn’t exist back then!

Wrong
“Dumb Money” is presented as a story about lower and middle-class investors sticking it to the 1%. While the GameStop short squeeze was a win for the little guy, a few titans also came out on top. Taking notice of GameStop’s rising stock, nine bigwig investors got in on the action. By January 2021, Vanguard Group had 5.3 million shares, BlackRock had 8.6 million shares, and Fidelity had 9.5 million shares. Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen alone owned 9 million shares, more than any other individual. That same month, the nine investors grossed a combined total of roughly $16 million, about three-quarters of GameStop’s market value. “Dumb Money” is a rags-to-riches story, but for some, it was a riches to more riches story.

Right
The film opens with Plotkin hoping to destroy the mansion next door and make way for a tennis court. As the GameStop situation escalates, the tennis court becomes the least of Plotkin’s worries. On January 28, 2021, at the height of the short squeeze, it was reported that Plotkin spent $44 million on neighboring Miami Beach houses with aspirations to knock down one for an additional $12 million. In addition to the tennis court, Plotkin planned to build a foot cabana and playground for his kids. The GameStop short squeeze couldn’t have come at a worse time. In a month, Plotkin’s hedge fund lost almost $7 billion - more than half its value. Plotkin announced Melvin Capital’s closure in 2022, founding Tallwoods Capital that same year.

Right
Vlad Tenev and Baiju Bhatt co-founded Robinhood, a financial service that was commonly used during the GameStop short squeeze. Robinhood was at the center of controversy on January 28, 2021, when the company blocked users from buying more GameStop stock. The film omits a few details, as Robinhood also blocked purchases of AMC, BlackBerry, and Koss, among other companies that Redditors were boosting. Robinhood wasn’t the only stock trading platform that halted purchases either, with Interactive Brokers doing the same. Nevertheless, “Dumb Money” gets to the root of the irony that Robinhood essentially robbed from the poor to benefit the rich. It was also around this time that WallStreetBets was banned for “hateful and discriminatory content,” although the subreddit has since returned.

Wrong
Gill attracts a legion of small investors. America Ferrera plays Jenny Campbell, a nurse struggling to keep a roof over her family’s heads. Anthony Ramos is Marcus Barcia, a GameStop employee with an obnoxious boss. The film also stars Talia Ryder and Myha’la Herrold as Harmony and Riri, two college girlfriends eager to knock Wall Street down a peg. Ferrera’s character draws some parallels to Kim Campbell, a nurse mentioned in Ben Mezrich’s “The Antisocial Network.” Other than this, Gill’s followers in “Dumb Money” are either composite characters or fictionalized. While not every supporting character is real, each brings something relatable to the story. If you got in on the GameStop short squeeze, chances are you’ll see yourself in at least one of these characters.

Right
The House Financial Services Committee eventually got involved in the GameStop short squeeze, holding a virtual hearing on February 18, 2021. While mostly accurate, “Dumb Money” tweaks a few details regarding the hearing. It was Vlad Tenev who accidentally muted himself during the hearing, not Gabe Plotkin. However, the film faithfully recreates Keith Gill’s testimony, right down to the red headband hanging on his cat poster. Gill also gifted the screenwriters at least two quotable lines: “I am not a cat” and “I like the stock.” Although many feared that the game would be stopped, the court ultimately dismissed the lawsuit against Gill in April 2021. Gill left social media shortly after, but what he started continues to change the game.

Which stock do you think will be the next GameStop? Share your theories in the comments and maybe start another short squeeze!