Vlad Tenev

Vladimir Tenev (Bulgarian: Владимир Тенев; born 13 February 1987) is a Bulgarian-American entrepreneur who is the co-founder (with Baiju Bhatt) and CEO of Robinhood, a US-based financial technology services company.

Vladimir Tenev
Tenev in 2016
Born (1987-02-13) February 13, 1987
Varna, Bulgaria
NationalityAmerican, Bulgarian
EducationStanford (BA)
UCLA (dropped out)
OccupationEntrepreneur
Known forCo-founder, Robinhood
Children1

Early life

Tenev was born in Bulgaria, and his parents migrated to the U.S. when he was five.[1] His parents both worked for the World Bank.[2] He attended Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology[3] in Fairfax County, Virginia.

He earned a degree in mathematics from Stanford University, where he met Baiju Bhatt.[4] He studied for a mathematics PhD at UCLA, but dropped out to work with Bhatt.[2][5]

Career

In 2010, Tenev and Bhatt started a high-frequency trading software company called Celeris. By January 2011 they abandoned it to create Chronos Research, which sold low-latency software to other trading firms and banks.[6]

In 2013, Tenev and Bhatt co-founded the trading platform Robinhood.[4] In 2015, Robinhood launched its mobile app to the public.[7] Following a funding round in May 2018 which increased Robinhood's valuation to $6 billion, Tenev and Bhatt became billionaires.[4][8]

In November 2020, Tenev became the sole CEO of Robinhood, having previously shared the co-CEO title with Bhatt.[9]

In July 2021, Robinhood went public via an initial public offering at a $32 billion valuation.[10]

GameStop short squeeze

Tenev defended Robinhood's decision to prevent users from buying stock or options in a variety of securities, notably GameStop, during the GameStop short squeeze;[11][12][13][14] the decision had sparked widespread criticism from users of the app as well as politicians in both major American parties.[15]

On January 28, 2021, Robinhood was among a number of brokerages that halted users from buying stock or options in GameStop and the other heavily shorted-securities.[16]

On February 18, 2021, Tenev testified before the United States House Committee on Financial Services regarding Robinhood's role during the GameStop short squeeze.[17][18] Tenev came under criticism from members of both parties and was criticized for struggling to provide answers to a number of questions.[19][20][21]

His testimony explained that Robinhood’s decision to halt securities was driven by a need to meet federal clearinghouse deposit requirements, and refuted a number of theories that accused Robinhood of colluding with hedge funds during the squeeze.[22]

In its July 2021 Form S-1 filing with the SEC, Robinhood disclosed that the US Attorney's Office had executed a search warrant for Tenev's cell phone as part of a probe into the GameStop short squeeze.[23][24][25]

Awards
Year Awards Category Result Ref.
2016 Forbes 30 Under 30 Young Traders Won [26]
2022 Forbes 30 Under 30 Hall of Fame [27]

Other awards

He was invited to be the keynote speaker at UCLA's 2019 Math Commencement Ceremony.[28]

Personal life

Tenev is married to Celina A. Tenev, notably a Co-Founder of an emergency health service, Call9.[29] The pair have one daughter.[30]

Tenev is portrayed by Sebastian Stan in the 2023 film Dumb Money, a drama about the short squeeze.[31]

References
  1. "The founders of Robinhood, a no-fee stock-trading app, were initially rejected by 75 venture capitalists — now their startup is worth $1.3 billion". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  2. "Vlad Tenev, 28". Forbes. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  3. Thomas Jefferson HS. "Thomas Jefferson HS". Twitter.
  4. "Robinhood Founders Are Billionaires in Silicon Valley Minute". Bloomberg News. 11 May 2018. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  5. Ongchoco, David (12 August 2015). "Startup Insider: The Story Behind Stock Trading App Robinhood and Its One Million-Person Waitlist". HuffPost. Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  6. "Win the Stock Market with Crowd Sourced Advice from New App Robinhood". 18 April 2013.
  7. "Online Brokerage Robinhood Will Offer Bitcoin And Ethereum Trading In February". Forbes. 25 January 2018.
  8. "Meet the 11 new tech billionaires that emerged in 2018". Retrieved 23 July 2018.
  9. "This app completely disrupted the trading industry". CNN. 13 December 2019.
  10. "Robinhood valued at $32 billion after selling shares in IPO at $38 per share". CNBC. 28 July 2021.
  11. Reuters Staff (2021-01-29). "Robinhood CEO says limited trade to protect firm and customers". Reuters. Retrieved 2021-01-29. {{cite news}}: |author= has generic name (help)
  12. "Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev speaks out on decision to restrict trading on GameStop and other stocks". CNBC. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  13. "Robinhood CEO Says Trading Limits Will Protect Firm, Customers". Bloomberg.com. 2021-01-29. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  14. Robinhood CEO speaks on controversy after GameStop stock chaos - CNN Video, 29 January 2021, retrieved 2021-01-29
  15. "Robinhood founder Vlad Tenev says app blocked GameStop buys to "protect investors"". Newsweek. 2021-01-28. Retrieved 2021-01-29.
  16. "Robinhood restricts trading in GameStop, other names involved in frenzy". CNBC. 2021-01-28.
  17. Popper, Nathaniel (18 February 2021). "Grilled in the hearing, Robinhood's chief apologizes for limiting GameStop trades". The New York Times. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  18. Collins, Eliza (February 18, 2021). "Who Are Keith Gill and Other Key Players at the GameStop Hearing?". The Wall Street Journal. Retrieved February 18, 2021.
  19. Popper, Nathaniel; Phillips, Matt (2021-02-18). "In GameStop Saga, Robinhood Is Cast as the Villain". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  20. "Under fire, Robinhood CEO apologizes to Congress for restricting trading". NBC News. 18 February 2021. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  21. Sorkin, Andrew Ross; Karaian, Jason; Merced, Michael J. de la; Hirsch, Lauren; Livni, Ephrat (2021-02-19). "'Something Very Wrong Happened Here'". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 2021-02-19.
  22. "GameStop hearing: Robinhood founder defends halt to trading". TheGuardian. 2021-02-18.
  23. Kay, Grace. "Robinhood's IPO filing reveals the US Attorney's Office executed a search warrant for CEO Vlad Tenev's cell phone". Business Insider. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  24. Sigalos, MacKenzie (2021-07-01). "Feds seized Robinhood CEO's phone as part of GameStop trading probe". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-07-05.
  25. Westbrook, Jesse (July 1, 2021). "Robinhood Says U.S. Demanded Access to CEO Tenev's Phone Records". Bloomberg.
  26. Vardi, Nathan. "30 Under 30 Finance: The Top Young Traders, Bankers And Dealmakers". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-07-12.
  27. "Vlad Tenev". Forbes. 28 March 2022.
  28. "2019 Math Commencement Keynote Speaker: Vladimir Tenev". UCLA. Retrieved 7 April 2020.
  29. "Call9: Modernizing Emergency Care". Center for Health Technology Hunter College. 2019-05-15. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  30. Garcia, Ahiza (2017-09-08). "Robinhood co-founders want everyone in the stock market". CNNMoney. Retrieved 2022-03-23.
  31. "'Dumb Money' First Look: The GameStop Stock Frenzy Is Now a Movie". Vanity Fair. 2023-06-21. Retrieved 2023-10-18.
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