Carson Block is an American investor and the founder of Muddy Waters Research.[1] He is known for documenting and alleging fraudulent accounting practices in publicly traded Chinese companies.[2]

Carson Block
Born (1977-04-27) April 27, 1977 (age 47)
Alma materUniversity of Southern California
Chicago-Kent College of Law
OccupationInvestor
Known forfounder of Muddy Waters Research
TitleFounder, CEO, & CIO of Muddy Waters Capital LLC
Websitemuddywaterscapital.com

Early life and career

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Block grew up in Summit, New Jersey. He earned an undergraduate degree from the University of Southern California and holds a J.D. degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law.[3]

Block went to work with his father, a period he describes as “very embittering” as he was “lied to by a parade of management” of internet companies. He quit equity analysis for law school, later moving to Shanghai before leaving law and setting up a self-storage business in 2007.[4]

In 2011, Block was ranked as a 50 Most Influential Thinker by Bloomberg Markets.[5]

In September 2017, Block initiated a private lawsuit against Equifax, accusing the latter of neglecting to safeguard his personally identifiable information.[6] He appears in the documentary The China Hustle, outlining his research into securities fraud of Chinese companies through Muddy Waters.[7] In early 2018, he was also forced to settle a case with St. Jude Medical Inc. in order to avoid a lawsuit.[8]

References

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  1. ^ "Carson Block: The man behind Muddy Waters, a scourge of listed Chinese companies". The Economist. 7 July 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  2. ^ Weil, Jonathan (10 January 2013). "Big China Short Shows Downside of Kleptocracy". Bloomberg View. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  3. ^ Kawa, Lucas (17 December 2012). "How Short-Seller Carson Block Became The Most Hated Man In China". Business Insider. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  4. ^ Shazar, Jon. "Carson Block's Effort To Avoid Becoming His Father A Serious Pain For Potentially Fraudulent Businesses". Dealbreaker. Retrieved 2020-03-31.
  5. ^ "Bloomberg Markets Most Influential 50". Bloomberg L.P. Archived from the original on September 23, 2011. Retrieved 14 January 2013.
  6. ^ "My $500,000 lawsuit over the Equifax cyberbreach is personal, says short-seller Carson Block". cnbc.com. 2017-09-17. Retrieved 2020-02-12.
  7. ^ Block, Carson. "Yes, China Does Cheat In Trade - The Rest Of The World Needs To Wake Up". Forbes.
  8. ^ "UNIFORM APPLICATION FOR INVESTMENT ADVISER REGISTRATION AND REPORT BY EXEMPT REPORTING ADVISERS" (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 2021-04-28. Retrieved 2021-12-07.