Raj Rajaratnam, the American Dream success story. Working his way up as an immigrant from Sri Lanka, Rajaratnam fought his way into the ruthless finance industry, and eventually became one of America’s most successful hedge fund executives; however, the billionaire soon became caught up in greed. At the forefront of many securities fraud related issues concerning Rajaratnam, leaked information about an investment by Warren Buffet into Goldman Sachs during the peak of the 2008 financial crisis, captured the attention of media across the world.
Working as an analyst during the 1990’s, and eventually making a majority of his wealth during the 2000 technology bubble, Rajaratnam made many connections that would ultimately lead him into the insider trading scandal. During the investigation, phone conversations, text messages and in person meetings were documented by the FBI. Rajaratnam paid handsomely for tips, ranging upwards of two million dollars, but in the end some of his most trusted colleagues including Galleon Group hedge fund partner, Rajat Gupta, testified against him. Rajaratnam was sentenced to eleven years in a federal prison.
The Wall Street Journal Article – Trader Draws Record Sentence: http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424052970203914304576627191081876286.html
The entire Rajaratnam story documented in depth by American Greed featured on CNBC: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DQCb5hV7idk