Who Is Jim Cramer?
James “Jim” Cramer is a TV personality, former hedge fund manager, and an author with best-selling books to his name. He hosts the program Mad Money. He is the co-founder of TheStreet, Inc.
Born in 1955 to N. Ken and Louise Cramer in Pennsylvania. He although his father owned a packaging company, his first job was selling ice cream during baseball games in Philadelphia. He graduated high school from Springfield Township High School and went to college in Harvard. In 1977, he graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor’s Degree in Government from Harvard. In 1984, Cramer received a Juris Doctor degree from Harvard Law School.
After graduating from Harvard, Cramer started his career as a reporter for several newspapers such as the Tallahassee Democrat in Florida where he covered the Ted Bundy murders. He then moved to Los Angeles where he worked for the Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and also worked for the monthly legal magazine American Lawyer.
While studying law, Cramer dabbled in the stock market. He made his early fortune by investing for The New Republic Owner Martin Peretz and the latter is not disappointed. He later worked for Goldman Sachs Wealth Management as a stockbroker. In 1987, he would start his own hedge fund called Cramer and Co. In 1996, he co-founded TheStreet, Inc. which is very successful.
In 2005, Cramer hosted a program on CNBC titled Mad Money and he also had a radio show Jim Cramer’s Real Money which lasted until December 2006.
He is currently married to real estate broker and restaurateur Lisa Detwiler.
Net Worth
Cramer’s net worth is estimated to be $100 million. Majority of his net worth came from his job as hedge fund manager. It is here Cramer increased his net worth through a diversified strategy of multiple income streams. Even though he retired from his hedge fund in 2001, he still profits from his TheStreet company and his hosting of Mad Money.
His humble beginnings helped him appreciate the value of money which has made him invest wisely although he had setbacks every now and then. But his careful management of his finances has served him well and placed him where he is. He does not “gamble” with money in the stock market. He makes it a point to research the market so he knows where to put his money. His long experience in finance has made him the choice for those seeking financial advice because he has been there before and knows what others are going through.
At present, he is not allowed to trade stocks with his own money. In an agreement reached with CNBC, he is allowed to own stocks of TheStreet, General Electric and Comcast. This arrangement somewhat hinders him from further boosting his net worth.
