Page 3 Profile: Mohammed Islam, schoolboy

Mohammed Islam, schoolboy

Laughing all the way to the bank?

Yes, but he’ll have to wait until after class. A US schoolboy has made millions of dollars by trading stocks during his lunch breaks at school. Mohammed Islam, from Queens, New York, has accumulated an estimated wealth of $72m (£46m), according to reports.

How did he make his fortune?

The 17-year-old began dabbling in penny stocks when he was just nine. He went on to develop what he calls a “life-long passion” for trading and spends his lunch breaks at New York’s Stuyvesant High School trading oil and gold futures and equities. He added he has now developed “a passion for understanding the markets and a passion for making money” and trades “mainly based on volatility and volume”.

Greed is good, then?

The New York Magazine estimated that the teenager has made $72m. In an interview, Mr Islam refused to disclose his exact net worth but said it was in “the high eight figures”.

What’s he spent it on?

Mr Islam said he has purchased a BMW, which he does not have a licence to drive, and now rents a luxury flat in Manhattan, though his parents won’t allow him to move out of his family home yet.

The one thing money can’t buy? Cool parents

He also revealed that he has declined jobs at several investment firms which were offering salaries of more than £7,000 per month.

Small change to a high-flyer like Mr Islam…

The teenager said he intends to make a billion dollars by next year and that he and his trader friends hope to start a hedge fund in June when he is old enough to get his broker-dealer license. “It’s not just about the money,” Mr Islam insisted. “We want to create a brotherhood.”