Gabe Plotkin (born 1978) is an American businessman, the founder and chief investment officer of former Melvin Capital Management and Tallwoods Capital LLC. He is also a majority owner and co-chairman of the

Charlotte Hornets The Charlotte Hornets are an American professional basketball team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Hornets compete in the National Basketball Association (NBA) as a member of the Southeast Division of the Eastern Conference. The team ...

of the

NBA The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada). The NBA is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United States and Ca ...

Biography

Early life and education

Gabe Plotkin was born and raised in a modest family in

Portland, Maine Portland is the List of municipalities in Maine, most populous city in the U.S. state of Maine and the county seat, seat of Cumberland County, Maine, Cumberland County. Portland's population was 68,408 at the 2020 census. The Portland metropolit ...

. He graduated

magna cum laude Latin honors are a system of Latin phrases used in some colleges and universities to indicate the level of distinction with which an academic degree has been earned. The system is primarily used in the United States. It is also used in some Sout ...

from

Northwestern University Northwestern University (NU) is a Private university, private research university in Evanston, Illinois, United States. Established in 1851 to serve the historic Northwest Territory, it is the oldest University charter, chartered university in ...

with a bachelor's degree in economics.

Early career

After graduating, he worked for Henry Crown and Company before joining North Sound Capital as a consumer stocks analyst. In 2006, he joined S.A.C. Capital Advisors, a hedge fund founded by Steve Cohen, where he was one of its top traders. He managed one of the firm's largest portfolios, valued at over $1 billion.

Melvin Capital Management

In 2014, with a $200 million investment from Cohen, Plotkin founded Melvin Capital Management, a New York-based

hedge fund A hedge fund is a Pooling (resource management), pooled investment fund that holds Market liquidity, liquid assets and that makes use of complex trader (finance), trading and risk management techniques to aim to improve investment performance and ...

which he named after his grandfather. It had $3.5 billion under management by 2017. In 2017, with $300 million in earnings, he was one of the highest-earning hedge fund managers. This increased to over $850 million in 2020, placing him in the top 15 highest-earning hedge fund managers. However, his compensation decreased in 2021, due to the impact of the

GameStop short squeeze In January 2021, a short squeeze of the stock of the American video game retailer GameStop and other Security (finance), securities took place, causing major financial consequences for certain hedge funds and large losses for Short (finance), ...

on the fund. Despite receiving $2 billion from

Kenneth C. Griffin Kenneth Cordele Griffin (born October 15, 1968) is an American hedge fund manager, entrepreneur and investor. He is the founder, chief executive officer, co- chief investment officer, and 80% owner of Citadel LLC, a multinational hedge fund. He ...

and $750 million from Steve Cohen, on May 18, 2021,

Bloomberg Bloomberg may refer to: People * Daniel J. Bloomberg (1905–1984), audio engineer * Georgina Bloomberg (born 1983), professional equestrian * Michael Bloomberg (born 1942), American businessman and founder of Bloomberg L.P.; politician a ...

announced

Melvin Capital Melvin Capital Management LP was an American investment management firm based in New York City. It was founded in 2014 by Gabriel Plotkin, who named the firm after his late grandfather. On May 18, 2022, Plotkin announced that the fund would c ...

went defunct shorting GameStop and Gabe Plotkin would be shutting down his firm.

Tallwoods Capital LLC

Plotkin founded Tallwoods Capital LLC, a

family office A family office is a privately held company that handles investment management and wealth management for a wealthy family, generally one with at least $50–100 million in investable assets, with the goal being to effectively grow and transfer ...

focusing on long-term investments, in 2022 and is the firm's chief investment officer. Tallwoods Capital is headquartered in

Miami Beach, Florida Miami Beach is a coastal resort city in Miami-Dade County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Miami metropolitan area of South Florida. The municipality is located on natural and human-made barrier islands between the Atlantic Ocean ...

Charlotte Hornets

Plotkin purchased a minority stake in the

in 2019, and subsequently served as an alternate governor on the

Board of Governors. In June 2023, Plotkin along with Rick Schnall purchased the

from majority owner

Michael Jordan Michael Jeffrey Jordan (born February 17, 1963), also known by his initials MJ, is an American businessman and former professional basketball player, who is currently a minority owner of the Charlotte Hornets of the National Basketball Ass ...

, who will continue to hold a minority interest. He is currently the team's co-chairman.

Personal life and philanthropy

He is married to

Queens, New York Queens is the largest by area of the Boroughs of New York City, five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. Located near the western end of Long Island, it is bordered by the ...

–native Yaara Bank-Plotkin, with whom he has four children. He is of Jewish descent. Plotkin contributes to philanthropic causes for veterans and the Jewish community. He is on the board of advisors to Children of Fallen Patriots Foundation, an organization which provides scholarships and mentorship to individuals who lost a parent in the line of duty. Through the Gabriel and Yaara Plotkin Family Foundation, he and his wife have supported organizations like the

Wounded Warrior Project Wounded Warrior Project (WWP) is an American charity and veterans service organization that operates as a nonprofit 501(c)(3). WWP offers a variety of programs, services and events for wounded veterans who incurred a physical or mental injury, ...

and Chabad of Southampton.

In popular culture

Plotkin is portrayed by

Seth Rogen Seth Aaron Rogen (; born April 15, 1982) is a Canadian actor, comedian, and filmmaker. Known primarily for his comedic Leading actor, leading man roles in films, the accolades he has received include nominations for three Golden Globe Awards, ...

in the 2023 film '' Dumb Money'', a biographical drama about the

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Plotkin, Gabe American hedge fund managers Jewish American sports executives and administrators 1970s births Living people Year of birth uncertain Northwestern University alumni Businesspeople from Portland, Maine Charlotte Hornets owners Jews from Maine