Wall Street prodigy loses billions just before his wedding

It was supposed to be a dream week for Leopold Aschenbrenner (24), the young Wall Street prodigy who, thanks to his AI fund “Situational Awareness,” posted a return of no less than 439% in six months. Instead of celebrating, however, this week turned into a financial bloodbath: his fund reportedly lost tens of billions and was forced to sell nearly all of its publicly traded stock positions.

Leopold Aschenbrenner, a German who graduated from Columbia University at the age of nineteen and previously worked at OpenAI, launched his fund in 2024. He bet big on the AI infrastructure boom—data centers, memory chips, energy—by taking positions in companies such as SK Hynix, Micron, and Nebius. At the same time, he took short positions on traditional software companies like Adobe. Thanks to the leverage provided by borrowed money, his fund reached approximately $45 billion in early July, according to CNBC.

Turnaround

Last month, however, the tide turned. Tech stocks were hit hard. The Nasdaq lost about 10%, SK Hynix and other chip-focused funds plummeted, and Nebius briefly lost nearly half its market capitalization. Due to leverage, losses mounted at a breakneck pace.

Major banks such as Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America demanded additional collateral. Since Aschenbrenner was unable to provide it, there was only one option left: a forced sale. According to several sources, virtually the entire public equity portfolio—including both long and short positions—was sold in a single transaction to Ken Griffin’s leveraged fund Citadel, with the support of the banks involved. The fund reportedly lost about 67% in July but still posts a largely positive return for 2026. One major consolation: Aschenbrenner retains a significant private stake in Anthropic, OpenAI’s competitor in the AI field, estimated at about $5 billion.

This massive sale comes at a particularly notable time. Aschenbrenner is marrying Avital Balwit, a colleague at Anthropic, this weekend. Guests at the wedding reception will certainly have plenty to talk about.