How does an unassuming farm boy from Pennsylvania make $1 million by age 19, steal Hugh Hefner's Playboy Playmate girlfriend by age 21 and then get sent to federal prison by age 24? Wall Street Joyride: The True Story of the Prodigy, the Playmates and the Missing $50 Million tells the true adventure of Mark Yagalla's wild ride through the dotcom bubble of the 1990s - a boom of riches that allowed Yagalla to live the lifestyle that millions of people can only dream about. But his supercharged rise to the top led to a hard and tragic fall.
This gritty memoir is about ambition, greed, and unchecked investment acumen. Along the way, Yagalla rose to making more than $10 million a year, which he used to lavishly support his porn star, stripper and model girlfriends with expensive cars, mansions, helicopters, Gulfstream jets and luxury vacations.
Hunger for more led him to turn his $50 million hedge fund into a reckless Ponzi scheme that funded his opulent lifestyle. Eventually, Yagalla was arrested for embezzling $32 million and spent five years in federal prison.
A cautionary and explosive tale about a young man with investment skills well beyond his years, Wall Street Joyride provides a powerful lesson for all of us. In this revealing tell-all, Yagalla shares the real story of his life and loves, the lessons he's learned, and how we can learn from him.
About the Author: Mark Yagalla is the investment prodigy who founded Ashbury Capital and APEX Investments. After making his first $1 million at 19, he dropped out of the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania and went to Wall Street. While working on Wall Street, Mark successfully raised $50 million for his hedge funds. By the age of 22, he was making more than $10 million a year. After the dotcom bubble burst, his life came crashing down at 23. He pled guilty to securities fraud at 24 and served five years in a United States federal prison.
Mark is an experienced entrepreneur who has invested in and built several businesses. In addition to his hedge funds, Mark was either the owner or partner in Pine Meadows Personal Care Homes, City Wide Transportation, Governor Printz Properties, Ashbury Properties, Ashbury Aviation, TMBR/Sharp Drilling, Delsoft Consulting, Intelliworxx, TravelNow, and many more. After Mark's stint in federal prison, he has worked as a proprietary day trader, guerrilla marketer, and a writer for The Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha.
Mark is now living in Thailand as he works on his books and resumes his career. As an author, life coach, speaker and matchmaker he looks forward to helping others learn from his mistakes. Mark's life has been covered by The Wall Street Journal, New York Times, NY Post, NY Daily News, Daily Mail, CBS News' 48 Hours, USA Today, Philadelphia Magazine, Details Magazine and other media.
