Jim Cramer Net Worth, Crypto and NFT Investments

The NET WORTH of Jim Cramer is estimated to be around $160 million. He acquired most of his wealth as a hedge fund manager. Jim Cramer seems to have a magic touch of success for businesses. He began trading stocks during his time at the Harvard Law School and consequently emerged one of the most successful hedge fund managers.

However, Jim Cramer after retiring from hedge funds management focused more on building his reputation as a media personality. Due to that, Jim Cramer appeared on numerous shows on CNBC. Also, he featured in movies like Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps.

He’s also famous as an author of numerous books on finance. Jim Cramer is well known as a controversial figure. On numerous occasions, he aired erroneous investment advice that eventually cost users their funds.  Despite his controversial personality, he’s still widely respected as one of the best financial and investment experts of his generation. 

Jim Cramer’s Net Worth

Early Life

James Joseph Cramer was born on February 10, 1955 in Wyndmoor, Wyndmoor, a suburb very close to Philadelphia. He was born into a Jewish family of Louise A. Cramer and Ken Cramer. His parents were talented and they put a lot of hard work in their respective endeavors. His mother, Louise Cramer was an artist, while his father Ken owned an international packing firm. The firm sold wrapping paper, boxes, and bags to retailers and restaurants.

Jim Cramer’s parents inspired him to be hardworking and to put his all into whatever he does. This trait encouraged Jim Cramer to venture into trading groceries at a very young age. At one point, Jim Cramer sold Coca-Cola and Ice creams at the Veterans stadium during Philadelphia Phillies baseball games. However, despite his early engagement in business, Jim Cramer created time for his academics. According to our findings, he attended Springfield Township High School before proceeding to Harvard College where he studied Government. In 1977, Jim Cramer graduated magna cum laude from Harvard where he bagged a Bachelor of Arts degree.

Meanwhile, during his time at Harvard, Jim Cramer gained experience as a journalist due to the extracurricular activities he dedicated himself to. He committed heavily to the Harvard Crimson; a publication in the University then. At one point, Jim Cramer served as the President and Editor-in-Chief of the Harvard Crimson. After he graduated from the college, he was employed by the Tallahassee Democrat publication in Florida. Jim Cramer as a journalist gained prominencee due to the coverage of the Ted Bundy murder in Tallahassee. He was regarded as one of the first journalists to cover the story.

More so, while in Florida, Jim Cramer was a victim of numerous robberies. He was robbed on different occasions with his assailants carting away his belongings. At one point, Jim Cramer was forced to live in his car as he was left with no money for rent. As a journalist, he worked for other publications like Los Angeles Herald-Examiner and American Lawyer. His dedication to journalism provided him an opportunity to work for the Governor of California, Jerry Brown. He also served as an editor for SmartMoney magazine. 

Hedge Fund Career

Shortly after, Jim Cramer decided to further his education. This decision took him to Harvard Law School in 1981. By 1984, he already bagged his Juris Doctor degree. While at Harvard, he began investing in the stock market. The returns from this investment provided him with the financial capabilities to pay his tuition. Jim Cramer enjoyed a good investment journey by making some successful stock picks. 

Jim Cramer spent more time watching the nascent 24-hour cable television business news channels. He watched these channels to gather more information about the stock market. To some extent, these efforts worked out well. Venturing into stock investment, Harvard Law faculty member and The New Republic editor and owner, Martin Peretz was the first client that entrusted their funds worth $500, 000 into Jim Cramer’s care. He recorded good returns with the funds, earning a good reputation as a brilliant hedge fund manager.

Due to this, he was employed by Goldman Sachs as a stock broker the same year he graduated from Harvard Law School. This working experience laid the foundation of his journey to becoming a successful hedge fund manager. It is worth mentioning that Jim Cramer was admitted to the New York State Bar Association in 1985. Despite that, Jim Cramer didn’t practice the profession. In 2009, his license to practice Law in New York was suspended due to his failure to pay the registration fee. Nevertheless, his dedication to stock trading paid well for him. 

With his experience at Goldman Sachs, Jim Cramer already had enough knowledge as a hedge fund manager. This experience motivated him to establish his hedge fund known as Cramer and Co. Without a doubt, he enjoyed a good trading experience with his firm. The hedge fund company operated under Jim Cramer for thirteen (13) years between 1987 to 2000. During the course of those years, the firm enjoyed tremendous success and it only recorded just a year of negative return. 

Highlights of his success included how he managed to raise $450 million in profits, pocketing about 20% due to his contribution. Likewise, he managed to attract early investors like Steve Brill, Eliot Spitzer, and Martin Peretz. Jim Cramer decided to retire from hedge fund management in 2001 leaving his previous partner Jeff Berkowitz to take over the realms of the affairs of the company. Further, in a personal revelation, Jim Cramer noted that during his years at Cramer and Co., he recorded about 24% average annual return. He added that his organization yielded an average of $10 million on a yearly basis. Although, some publications and sources had debunked these claims. 

Media Career

Outside the hedge fund space, Jim Cramer engaged in some other businesses and endeavors. In 1996, Jim Cramer and Martin Peretz founded TheStreet.com, a financial analysis website. In August 2019, Jim Cramer alongside Martin Peretz sold the company for $16.5 million. The return from the sale of the company contributed little to the net worth of Jim Cramer.

Also, he appeared on CNBC as a guest commentator. Upon his retirement from the hedge fund he founded, Jim Cramer focused on television presentations. In 2002, he landed his show; “Kudlow & Cramer” on CNBC alongside Larry Kudlow. The program ran for three years. Thereafter, he began producing another show on CNBC in 2005. The new show was titled “Mad Money with Jim Cramer.” 

The Mad Money show projected Jim Cramer as an outstanding TV personality. On this show, the investment experts provided viewers with the needed tools, knowledge, and moral support on becoming a good investor. Meanwhile, on the show, Jim Cramer was bound by guidelines that made him avoid compelling investors to make certain investment decisions. Instead, he only provided them insights into how they could become a better investor. Due to that, Jim Cramer was mandated to reveal the positions he holds about any stocks that came under discussion during the show. Similarly, Jim Cramer was barred from trading any stocks that came under discussion on the show for at least five days after he talked about them. 

Meanwhile, his Mad Money show on CNBC emerged as the television version of his one-hour radio show. This radio show is known as Jim Cramer’s Real Money. It was active until December 2006. Outside CNBC, Jim Cramer also made some appearances. In 2005, he was featured in two episodes of Arrested Development. His interview with Dan Rather on November 13, 2005, also belongs to the category of some of his notable appearances outside CNBC. During the interview, he discussed issues like his past hedge fund manager career. This interview with Dan Rather lasted for about 60 minutes. 

Furthermore, Jim Cramer appeared on shows like Today, NBC Nightly News, Live with Regis and Kelly, Cheap Seats, and Late Night with Conan O’Brien. Discussion about Jim Cramer’s media career isn’t complete without mentioning his appearance on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, and Jimmy Kimmel Live. In early 2007, he appeared on “The Apprentice” as a guest judge.

Likewise, he appeared in the motion picture Iron Man spoofing Stark Industries on his show Mad Money. His appearance in the media also extended to film production. He was featured in the movie Wall Street: Money Never Sleeps. He also says he consulted for the original Wall Street movie by telling the producers how he would get through to Gordon Gekko.

Controversy Involving Jim Cramer

In 2000, Fox News Channel filed a lawsuit against Jim Cramer and TheStreet. According to the lawsuit, the investment expert breached a part of an agreement he signed to produce a show on the Fox News Channel. Jim Cramer eventually filed a counter-lawsuit against the broadcasting company. According to Fox News, Jim Cramer promoted TheStreet stock on its network without the prior knowledge of the producer. This, according to the broadcasting company, is against its agreement with Jim Cramer.

On various occasions, Jim Cramer came under huge scrutiny for recommending poor-performing stocks. Around the peak of the dotcom bubble in January 2000, Jim Cramer urged investors to consider technology stocks. He predicted a reoccurrence of the stock performance in the previous year. By February 2000, he boasted of earning a 36% return on his investment. Also, Jim Cramer talked about 10 stocks he wished to own. He also spoke about how he acquired them on a daily basis.

In December 2006 during an interview, Jim Cramer spoke about the tactic most Hedge Fund managers often employ to manipulate stock prices. Some of these strategies as opined by Jim Cramer were legal and illegal, though subjected to a debate. The investor spoke about how he could push the value of a stock to rally or plummet with just $5 million. During the interview, he beseeched hedge funds to consider employing some of the manipulative tactics to make quick money.

He further stirred up more controversies by alleging that some hedge fund managers often sponsor rumors to push a stock down. Jim Cramer added that while the tactics may look illegal, he described it as one of the easiest ways of manipulating stocks. Jim Cramer said hedge fund managers often get away with it because regulators don’t understand how it works.
Between 2007 to 2008 when the world economy endured a financial crisis, most of Jim Cramer’s investment recommendations were awful. At one point, he urged investors to consider Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia, and Lehman Brothers. However, these stocks performed woefully. In 2007, Jim Cramer criticized the Federal Reserve. In his submission, he referred to them as nuts. He said they know nothing about what they are doing, insisting they were responsible for the United States housing bubble of 2008.

During this period, he advised investors to as well consider investing in bank stocks. Though he made some predictions that turned out exactly the way Jim Cramer submitted. Around October 2008, Jim Cramer told investors to remove their money from the stock market as he predicted a massive decline. Then the S&P 500 Index was valued at 1,056. In less than five (5) months, the market dipped to 666, recording a 36.9% slump.

In 2009, Jim Cramer criticized President Barack Obama for running a radical agenda. He alleged that the President destroyed a lot of wealth. His comments about the policies of Barack Obama’s administration attracted a response from the White House. Press Secretary Robert Gibbs hit back by saying he wondered if there were backups for some of Jim Cramer’s comments about the economy in the past. Jim Cramer again slammed Gibbs, citing how the stock market plummeted owing to the fear and uncertainty that surfaced after Barack Obama’s budget plan surfaced. However, the stock market grew under Barack Obama against Jim Cramer’s submissions. By the time he left office, the stock market indexes already soared by more than 100%.

Is Jim Cramer Pro Crypto?

We cannot regard Jim Cramer as a crypto optimist because he does not believe in its long-term potential. Over the years, the popular CNBC host described cryptocurrencies as speculative assets, with no real value. He does not see the assets as a credible alternative to the existing traditional system in the financial world. Cramer believes every situation in the crypto market is a product of rigorous manipulations by actors within the sphere to fool and lure investors into the industry.

Although, Cramer had downplayed being a critic of cryptocurrency, most of his commentaries and statements about situations in the industry have proven otherwise. Over the years, the influential CNBC host built a strong reputation as an investment commentator and analyst, offering notable tips to investors. However, the lack of consistency in his commentaries, particularly with crypto investments has, over time, made him a subject of several controversies.

Cramer, at a time, advised his followers to invest in cryptocurrency, stressing that the long-term value of the asset dwells in its timeliness as a decentralized and peer-to-peer currency that would witness a rise in adoption in the coming years. However, he believes that if anybody must invest in the volatile crypto market, the investment should not go beyond 5% of their portfolio. This thus indicates that Cramer does not necessarily stop his followers from having exposure to the market, but insists such exposure should not be with their life savings. He was once quoted telling investors on “CNBC Make It” that “I can’t tell you not to own crypto; I own Ethereum.”

During the show, Cramer said investors may consider Bitcoin or Ethereum if they must invest in crypto, expressing confidence in the latter’s potential to give 35-40% percent returns. At the time he made that comment, Ether was close to attaining the $3,000 price mark. However, he claims holding crypto assets for the long term is not advisable.

The controversial analyst believes crypto investment is only good as a short-term bet, with investors leveraging the momentum in the market to sell high to enthusiastic buyers. His aim has always been to remind investors that market realities in the crypto arena are highly speculative and that exposure to any of the assets is like a gamble that might not pay off. But, he pledged never to discourage people from investing because several others have made fortunes from it. But, he does not advise borrowing to do that as past performance is not a guarantee of future returns.

In 2022, Jim Cramer leveraged the bear market that plunged cryptocurrency into its lowest low to ignite his pessimism about the industry. While at CNBC’s “Squawk Box” show, he slammed crypto as being essentially worthless, predicting more carnage ahead. According to him, “Crypto really does seem to be imploding. Went from $3 trillion to $1 trillion. Why should it stop at $1 trillion? There’s no real value there.”

"Crypto really does seem to be imploding. Went from $3 trillion to $1 trillion. Why should it stop at $1 trillion? There's no real value there," says @jimcramer on #crypto. "What an awful asset. NFTs sold to you. Made up." pic.twitter.com/09e5ST8q0N

— Squawk Box (@SquawkCNBC) July 5, 2022

Meanwhile, it is worth mentioning that these comments contradict or are in contrast with his earlier comments about cryptocurrency, particularly Ether. Although the second-largest crypto by market cap had fallen by 62% between those two moments, the lack of consistency in Cramer’s commentaries has already been established.

Jim Cramer was also one of those who dragged Sam Bankman-Fried following the collapse of FTX. Recall that the news of the collapse dominated the airspace in late 2022, thereby worsening the situation in the crypto industry. Amid the collapse and its heavy contagion in the market, the controversial host said so many unprintable words to SBF, describing him as a pathological liar. He said; “I think Sam whatever — I don’t even want to dignify his full name anymore — is just a con artist. That guy is a clueless idiot. Intent means nothing. Saying sorry means nothing.”

Ever since, Cramer has been advising investors to ignore crypto and stick to Gold trading. In January, Bitcoin made some gains in the market, but the controversial host still insisted it was not worth it, banking his submission on the analysis in a chart by Carley Garner. He told investors that “the charts, as interpreted by Carley Garner, suggest you need to ignore the crypto cheerleaders now that bitcoin’s bouncing. And if you seriously want a real hedge against inflation or economic chaos, she says you should stick with gold. And I agree.”

Cramer said he no longer considers Bitcoin as a store of value and stressed that the rising interest rate backdrop will hurt crypto assets in the near future. Meanwhile, following the struggles of the major banking firms in the United States, Bitcoin, and other crypto assets rallied.

At that time, Cramer was asked if he felt the banking issues could strengthen the investment case for Bitcoin. In response, the controversial host admitted that the price of Bitcoin was up, but insisted that he does not see any foreseeable use case for Bitcoin even with the banking crisis. He said; “No. Bitcoin went up today, and I could argue that now it can’t be held in banks. Bitcoin is a strange animal, I will say. Point blank, I think it’s being manipulated up. It was being manipulated the whole time by Sam Bankman-Fried. So please don’t assume, therefore, that it’s not still being manipulated. And I would sell my bitcoin right into this rally.”

However, barely a month after his comment, Bitcoin entered into its full rally, spiking to over $30,000. Certainly, those who took his advice by selling their Bitcoin holdings at that time would have made at least 23% gains if they ignored it. Cramer’s only argument to encourage investors into selling was that the price of the largest crypto by market cap was being manipulated, a submission many described as inaccurate.

Today, he is now popular as one who gives investment prediction that usually turn out to be opposite. Many feels most of what he says usually manifest in the reverse direction. By virtue of this, some investors feel betting against Cramer’s predictions is usually the best investment strategy. Recently, the CEO of Tuttle Capital, Matthew Tuttle said if Cramer specifically “says either buy, buy, buy a stock, then we’re gonna go short that stock at the next practical moment. If he tells you he hates a stock or sell, sell, sell or something like that, then we’re gonna go long that name again at the next kind of practical entry point.”

There is a trend, identified as “Inverse Cramer” which manifested as a strategy to make investors bet against every investment prediction by the media personality. The meme had become so popular that even the co-creator of Dogecoin, Billy Markus as well as Billionaire Tesla CEO, Elon Musk are now participants. Around March 2023, Markus in a Twitter post, taunted Cramer, saying he is “good at his job.” Musk was quick to react to the post with “the force is strong with inverse Cramer” comment.

All these suggest that the influential CNBC host is now popular for offering awful advice. At a time, he advised investors to buy Silicon Valley Bank (SVB) shares. However, barely a month after issuing the advice, the banking giant crumbled financially, forcing regulators to close it down.

Also, he hinted at the possibility of a bull run in early 2022. In the end, the industry suffered a massive downturn throughout the year, forcing many crypto firms out of business. These and many more are the various awful investment predictions that have made Cramer a subject of numerous controversies in the industry.

Amid the lawsuit against Binance and Changpeng Zhao in June 2023, Cramer asked investors to move their funds away from Binance. Recall that the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) spelt out thirteen charges against the exchange and its founder, thereby putting the crypto community in a state of fear. Some of the allegations against Binance include deceptive practices, lack of disclosure, and deliberate evasion of legal obligations, and many more.

SEC filed the lawsuit barely a few months after a sister agency in the U.S. known as Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) filed similar complaints against the exchange. While other actors in the industry were expressing disappointment in SEC’s action, Cramer focused on discussing the severity of the investigations against Binance. He expressed doubt over the future of the exchange, calling on his audience to remove their funds from its network immediately.

Today those who toil daily to prop up crypto coins will have to work in overdrive. The Binance brief by the SEC is so devastating that the defenders of this company will have to do some serious soul-searching. and expend real capital to maintain what looks to be a sham

— Jim Cramer (@jimcramer) June 6, 2023

Crypto and NFT Holdings of Jim Cramer

Despite being a pessimist, Jim Cramer holds crypto assets in his portfolio. His first exposure to crypto was in 2020. However, we cannot confirm the overall value of his investment at that time. More so, it is not clear if he still holds the assets as of the time of writing. This is because the media personality, in 2023, vowed not to touch crypto in a million years. But, we can affirm that Jim Cramer once held Bitcoin and Ether in his personal investment portfolio.

According to our findings, Cramer’s first crypto investment was in Bitcoin. He took the advice of a notable Bitcoin proponent Anthony Pompliano to invest in the crypto around 2020. As a pessimist, the CNBC host only put half a million dollars into the investment for a short period of time.

Then, Cramer said he only accepted Pompliano’s advice because Gold disappointed him. In 2021, he said he held 5% Gold and 5% Bitcoin, a position that might have changed now. Just like Mark Cuban and other renowned Bitcoin investors, Cramer made some gains from his then investment in the crypto. Credible sources estimated the worth of his Bitcoin holdings to be around $2.4 million in 2021. This thus means this investment must have also influenced the current net worth of Jim Cramer. A few years ago, Cramer paid off a mortgage with the proceeds of his Bitcoin investment. However, he claimed to have sold all the holdings during the 2021 bear market.

.@jimcramer discloses that he bought a lot of bitcoin when it was around $12K. He says he sold half of it to pay off his mortgage yesterday. "It was like phony money paying for real money… I think I won." https://t.co/L909N1g6x0 pic.twitter.com/hfkzTmIdWl

— CNBC (@CNBC) April 15, 2021

More so, Cramer invested in Ether, the second-largest crypto by market cap. He confirmed holding the token while featuring on CNBC’s “Make It” show in 2022. Although the influential media personality failed to disclose the exact worth of his Ether holdings as at that time, he clarified that he bought the token in an attempt to bid for an NFT at a charity. He said; “They wouldn’t let me do dollars,” he says. “I had to buy it in Ethereum, so I researched it, and it’s got some qualities I like.”

Despite being a critic of NFTs, there are indications that Cramer holds one. Recall that he is notable for querying the huge amounts thrown around for the digital collectibles. During one of his segments on CNBC’s “Squawk Box,” he described NFTs as an awful asset class. Cramer said; “NFTs. I mean, you looking at these companies that you’ve never heard of, and they blew up over the weekend. And you say to yourself, Holy Cow, there’s $600 million just going down the drain. What an awful asset. NFTs sold to you. Made up.”

Before making this negative comment about NFTs, Cramer had earlier participated in an auction by Time’s Magazine. Although he failed in the bid to buy the magazine’s cover auctioned as NFTs, Jim Cramer still kept Ether to boost his net worth. This is because the crypto was at its peak at that time. In the end, the NFT was sold for around $250,000 each.

Crypto Projects Featuring Jim Cramer

It is not surprising that Jim Cramer has featured in Wall Street Memes. The CNBC host was featured in one of the memes by the project amid his harsh comments about the 2022 crypto winter and the collapse of FTX. Wall Street Memes is widely popular on Instagram and Twitter for its memes which reflect happenings in the crypto industry. In the past few months, it has featured numerous influential personalities like Sam Bankman-Fried with many still to come.

Building on its recent success in the NFT market, the project recently launched its token presale. The presale, which is still ongoing, has been tipped to become one of the most prosperous crypto presales. This is due to how it has been able to record a massive number of participants, securing not less than $1.3 million within just a few days. Investors see a lot of potential in $WSM. Therefore, they want to get hold of it before it becomes listed on exchanges. You can as well visit wallstmemes.com to participate.

Jim Cramer’s Net Worth – Our Verdict

Over the years, Jim Cramer boosted his net worth by investing in several high-profile stocks. Some of these stocks are Amazon.com, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMZN), Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), and Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), MP Materials Corp. (NYSE:MP, and many more. He also held crypto assets like Bitcoin and Ether but sold them off after making some gains. His personality might be controversial, but Cramer knows how to diversify his investment portfolio and when to opt-out. The manner in which he was able to sell off his Bitcoin holdings before the general market downturn speaks volumes about his investment policies.

Cramer also engages in Gold trading; describing the asset as the most credible hedge against inflationary situations. Despite the controversies surrounding his investment insights, he’s widely respected as one of the best financial experts of his generation. According to estimates, the net worth of Jim Cramer is around $160 million. He was reported to have made this fortune through his hedge fund career, stock and other notable investments.

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