Who Really Got Rich From the GameStop Revolution?

When Reddit became the rowdy center of the investing universe last January, its co-founder Alexis Ohanian called the frenzy a “revolution” and a “chance for Joe and Jane America, the retail buyers of stock, to flex back and push back.” Maybe one day, he mused, the members of Reddit’s WallStreetBets forum could do more than just ambush hedge funds—they could outperform those highly paid investors.

The rookies who transformed videogame retailer GameStop into the hottest stock on the planet thought they had a twofer: sticking it to Wall Street while making a bundle themselves. But the revolutionaries didn’t do a good job on either count. The share price hovering over Mr. Ohanian’s shoulder during his Jan. 28, 2021, CNBC interview would be almost as high as it got. GameStop’s value tumbled by nearly 90% over a week even as a bunch of already-rich people on Wall Street and in corporate boardrooms got even richer. A spokeswoman said Mr. Ohanian wasn’t available to comment.