# Leo Ashkanasy's Fund Forced to Sell Public Stocks Due to Leverage **Source:** https://youtube.com/shorts/Qo1aHNJf_Mk?is=gTwyiSMV06XjTLqy ## Summary This content details the dramatic downfall of Leo Ashkanasy, an investor whose $20 billion public fund was forced to liquidate all positions. The collapse resulted from 'reckless' 4x leverage on high-beta AI stocks, leading to margin calls during a market downturn, with Ken Griffin's Citadel acquiring his public portfolio. Despite the setback, Ashkanasy maintains a $5 billion stake in Anthropic and is expected to retain his billionaire status. - Leo Ashkanasy, previously dubbed 'the next Warren Buffett,' grew a $225 million fund to over $20 billion in value in just 2.5 years. - He was forced to unwind all public stock positions due to 'mega losses,' experiencing a 35% downturn just this month. - Ken Griffin's Citadel acquired Ashkanasy's public book, reportedly worth about $16 billion before the unwind. - Ashkanasy utilized 'intense leverage' (4x) on high-beta AI stock positions, including CoreWeave, Irene, and Nebius. - A sell-off in AI stocks triggered margin calls from lenders, compelling him to sell rather than wait for a recovery. - He retained significant private investments, most notably a major stake in Anthropic, reportedly worth around $5 billion, which is expected to go public later this year. - The content criticizes his risk management as 'beyond reckless' for applying 4x leverage on a high-beta stock portfolio. - Despite the public fund's collapse, Ashkanasy is expected to remain a billionaire due to performance fees and his Anthropic stake, though his legendary public firm building aspirations are diminished. ## Transcript [[0:00]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo1aHNJf_Mk&t=0s) Leo Ashkanasy the boy wonder dubbed the next Warren Buffett the man who took a $225 million fund and turned it into over $20 billion in value in just two and a half years but today it all came crumbling down with the news that he has been forced to unwind all public stock positions after some mega losses and Citadel yep Ken Griffin sweeps in to buy his public book yet again big Ken wins so what happened well a nice sell off started to happen this month and some of his core positions like core weave Irene nebius have all been hit mega hard so much so that he's down 35% just this month alone that feels pretty bad right maybe it gets way worse he was using some intense leverage on those positions for X leverage leverage means borrowing money to invest more than you actually own imagine you have $100 borrow another $100 and you buy $200 of shares with that money if it rises 25% you make $50 but if they fall 25% your $200 becomes 150 but you still owe the bank $100 so you're left with only 50 you've lost half your money that is how leverage destroyed Leo in this case AI stocks fell and his lenders demanded more money through what is called margin calls and instead of being able to wait for the stocks to recover like one might do if they didn't have the pressure of leverage he was forced to sell Ken Griffin's Citadel then swooped in and bought the overwhelming majority of situational awarenesses public stock portfolio reportedly about $16 billion before the unwind but Citadel did not buy the entire firm or its private investments and most notably in In private investments Leo kept the most valuable part, a major stake in Anthropic, reportedly worth around $5 billion. So, we're not exactly crying for Leo with what's been left. But what do we take from all of this, and what happens now? Well, naughty Leo managed his risk like a 9-year-old after a sugar overdose. 4x leverage on such a high beta stock portfolio, frankly, is beyond reckless, and this could have been seen ahead of time had some of those leverage positions been known. But Leo will be fine. He has already made hundreds of millions of dollars in performance fees. [[2:34]](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qo1aHNJf_Mk&t=154s) He's got a mega position in Anthropic, which will go public later this year. So, don't cry for Leo. He's going to manage a much smaller firm. He'll still be a billionaire. But the legendary public firm that he longed to build is less likely today than ever before. --- *Transcribed with [Tacit](https://www.trytacit.app)*