Last Updated on September 13, 2024
Who Is Timothy Sykes
Timothy Sykes is an American stock trader, penny stock expert, and entrepreneur who is best known for turning his Bar Mitzvah gift money worth $12,415 into $1.65 million by day trading.
Sykes is a self-made millionaire who delights in sharing his wealth secrets.
Quick Facts
Full Name: | Timothy Sykes |
Popular Name: | Timothy Sykes |
Gender: | Male |
Birth Date: | April 15, 1981 |
Age: | 41 years |
Parents: | Joel Sykes and Jo-Ann Sykes |
Siblings: | Unknown |
Birth Place: | Orange, Connecticut |
Nationality: | American |
Ethnicity: | Jewish |
Education: | Amity Regional High School and Tulane University |
Marital Status: | Married |
Sexual Orientation: | Straight |
Wife/Spouse: | Bianca Alexa |
Children: | Unknown |
Dating: | N/A |
Net Worth: | USD 20 million |
Source of Wealth: | Stock Trading and Other Entrepreneurial Ventures |
Height: | 5′ 8″ (1.75 m) |
Weight: | 72 kg; In pounds: 159 lbs. |
Early Life
Timothy Sykes was born on April 15, 1981, in Orange, Connecticut, to Joel Sykes and Jo-Ann Sykes.
Sykes attended Amity Regional High School and Tulane University. He graduated from Tulane in 2003 with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy as well as a minor in business.
Career Information
Timothy Sykes began trading penny stocks in 1999 while attending Tulane University. He converted $12,415 which he had received in Bar Mitzvah gift money into over $1.65 million.
In 2003, Sykes invested $1 million received from his family and friends in founding a short bias hedge fund known as Cilantro Fund Management. Cilantro was ranked the #1 long-short microstock hedge fund in the United States by the Barclay Group from 2003 to 2006. In 2006, Sykes featured on Trader Monthly’s ’30 Under 30 List of upcoming traders.
In 2008, Timothy Sykes attempted to recreate his initial trading success by investing $12,415 in a firm known as Transparent Investment Management (TIM). The investment turned into more than $90,000 after two years.
In 2007, Sykes launched TimothySykes.com, a website through which he shares valuable penny stock trading tips.
In 2009, Sykes founded Investimonials.com. The website is dedicated to collecting user reviews of financial brokers as well as books and videos. Sykes is also associated with Profit.ly, a social service that he founded in 2011 with a view to providing stock trade information on the internet.
Timothy Sykes currently works as a financial consultant and educator.
Timothy Sykes’ Net Worth

As of 2023, Timothy Sykes had a net worth of $20 million. He has earned his wealth from his career as a penny stock trader.
Over the years, Sykes has continually multiplied his wealth by undertaking multiple ventures. He reportedly makes $4 million from his various engagements every year, $250,000 of which comes from day trading alone.
Besides stock trading, Sykes’ other notable income earners include writing and television appearances.
Sykes has a self-published book known as ‘An American Hedge Fund: How I Made $2 Million as a Stock Operator & Created a Hedge Fund. The book, which he published in 2007, documents Sykes’ day trading experience right from his humble beginnings in Tulane University.
On television, Sykes is best known for making appearances on the reality TV show Below Deck.
Lessons from Timothy Sykes
1. You can’t win if you aren’t prepared to lose
Many people consider Timothy Sykes as one of the luckiest penny stock traders alive. But converting $12,415 into $1.65 million from daytime trading wasn’t just a matter of sheer luck. It also had a lot to do with Sykes’ willingness to take calculated risks.
Sykes could have chosen to hold on to his Bar Mitzvah gift money, but he took a leap of faith that eventually paid huge dividends.
2. You succeed more by giving than receiving
Timothy Sykes understands one of the fundamental wealth creation secrets, which is giving back to the less fortunate. He founded the charity organization ‘Timothy Sykes Foundation’, through which he undertakes many of his charitable ventures. TSF has since raised $600,000 and also partnered with other organizations, including Boys and Girls Club and Make-a-Wish Foundation.
In 2017, Sykes donated $1 million towards the ‘Pencils of Promise’ initiative to aid in constructing 20 new primary schools across various countries, including Ghana, Laos, and Guatemala. The projects were set to be completed between 2017 and 2018. Sykes is also credited for founding Karmagawa, a charity that advocates for the preservation of natural resources while also assisting needy people around the world.
3. Speak out your mind, regardless of who gets offended
Sykes doesn’t shy away from speaking out against unethical business practices even if doing so ends up ruffling a few feathers.
He publicly condemned singer Justin Bieber and former professional basketball player Shaquille O’Neal for promoting “pump and dump” schemes. This is a scheme whereby an investor acquires stock and then inflates the price of those stocks by hyping people into purchasing them.
Famous Quotes by Timothy Sykes

“Don’t work for somebody else’s dream. We’re all human, we all make mistakes, we all learn.”
“Dream big and study hard, and don’t stop until you’ve achieved all your goals.”
Studying the past, seeing what worked before, because then you can be better prepared for the present and you can get wealthier in the future.
“You aren’t as smart as you believe and in this economy, you don’t have that great of a future, either. The good news is that neither intelligence nor potential is required to be a consistently profitable day trader.”
“You can learn and you can make money from anywhere in the world. Learn what you love and focus on it.”
Wrap Up
Timothy Sykes is an American penny stock trader who has enjoyed a fairly successful trading career after becoming a millionaire while in college. Over the years, Sykes has expanded his investment portfolio to include hedge funds as well as blogs. His current net worth stands at $20 million.