Investor Chris Camillo Made $10M+ Trading Amazon, Bloom Energy and Robinhood — His Best Run in 18 Years

Chris Camillo, the self-taught investor featured in Jack Schwager's Unknown Market Wizards, says three stock positions generated combined returns exceeding $10 million (£7.9 million) in roughly 90 days. It is, by his own account, the most profitable stretch of his 18-year trading career.

Speaking on The Iced Coffee Hour podcast published on 24 May, Camillo identified the trades as Amazon (NASDAQ: AMZN), Bloom Energy (NYSE: BE) and Robinhood Markets (NASDAQ: HOOD).

'It's eight figures between the three, and it's been the best few months that I've had in 18 years,' he said.

Amazon alone accounted for an eight-figure gain. Camillo described it as a position he had been building towards for over a decade. 'I told you I was doing this, right? Like, I've been waiting for this trade for years,' he said. 'I've been waiting for this trade for over a decade.'

How the Three Stocks Performed

Camillo first laid out his thesis on all three holdings during an earlier Iced Coffee Hour episode on 17 November 2025. At the time, he called AI 'the biggest technological cycle that we've ever seen in the history of the world' and set out specific cases for each holding.

Amazon, he argued, stood to benefit from two decades of infrastructure investment that AI-driven automation could now supercharge. The e-commerce giant's logistics network and cloud computing arm, Amazon Web Services, positioned it to capture efficiency gains across its entire business. The stock traded near $265 (£209) as of 23 May, up roughly 30 per cent over the past 12 months.

Bloom Energy was his shorter-term conviction play, centred on the company's solid-oxide fuel cell technology and its fit for powering AI data centres. As demand for computing power surges, data centre operators are scrambling to secure reliable, on-site energy sources. Camillo bet that Bloom's fuel cell systems would fill that gap. Shares climbed from a 52-week low of $18.12 (£14.30) to record highs above $270 (£213) by late May, a gain of more than 1,400 per cent.

Robinhood, his largest holding, was tied to a longer thesis around the roughly $100 trillion (£79 trillion) generational wealth transfer expected over the next three decades. Camillo argued that younger investors would direct a significant share of inherited assets through digital-first platforms like Robinhood rather than traditional brokerages. That stock has had a bumpier ride, falling from a 52-week high of $153.86 (£121.50) to around $73 (£57.70) as of late May.

From $84,000 to $42 Million Using Social Arbitrage

Camillo is not a Wall Street professional. He began investing his own capital in August 2006 with $84,000 (£66,400) and by May 2021 had grown his personal brokerage account to $42 million (£33.2 million), according to Yahoo Finance. Schwager verified his returns, documenting a 77 per cent average annual compounded return over nearly 15 years.

His method, which he calls social arbitrage, involves mining social media platforms, consumer behaviour data and cultural trends to identify investment opportunities before institutional money catches on. He founded TickerTags, a social data intelligence company whose tools famously predicted the Brexit result in 2016. By late 2025, his total portfolio had reportedly climbed past $80 million (£63.2 million), according to the podcast.

That track record stands in sharp contrast to the broader fund management industry. Over 86 per cent of US active stock fund managers failed to outperform the S&P 1500 in the 20 years through 2020, per Benzinga. Camillo's 77 per cent annualised average over a comparable timeframe dwarfs even the best-performing hedge funds.

Why Camillo Says Preparation Matters More Than Luck

Camillo stressed that his gains did not come from spontaneous bets. He said he spent years studying markets and waiting for the right conditions before committing serious capital to high-conviction ideas.

'Having a prepared mind is one of the most important things an investor can do,' Camillo said on the podcast. 'It's usually during the years when there aren't any high-conviction trades like that that you have to prepare yourself to make the move when one comes around.'

Disclaimer: Our digital media content is for informational purposes only and does not constitute investment advice. Please conduct your own analysis or seek professional guidance before investing. Remember, investments are subject to market risks, and past performance does not guarantee future results.