Mark Yagalla / Perfil

Mark Yagalla is an investment guru who made millions and then lost it all. Yagalla enrolled at the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania but dropped out at 19 after he made his first million. He went to Wall Street and quickly fell prey to its temptations -- wealth and its attendant gifts like fancy cars, beautiful girls and indulgent trips.

While on Wall Street, Yagalla raised $50 million for his hedge funds and by the age of 22 he was making $10 million a year. But the burst of the dotcom bubble led to his demise as well. At 24, he pled guilty to securities fraud.

Yagalla managed not only his hedge funds but was also the owner or partner in a number of endeavors, including 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.

His story, similar to that of the Wolf of Wall Street’s, has made him a desirable media subject. His story has been shared by the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, New York Post, New York Daily News, Daily Mail, CBS News’ 48 Hours, USA Today, Philadelphia Magazine, Details Magazine and other media outlets.

His book, Wall Street Joyride: The True Story of the Prodigy, the Playmates and the Missing $50 Million offers a unique look at Ponzi schemes, pump and dumps and the ins and outs of unscrupulous investing.

Yagalla recognizes that his life experience can help others, that through education others can find their own wealth with honest methods. Since prison he has worked as a proprietary day trader, guerilla marketer and has written for The Motley Fool and Seeking Alpha.

Yagalla now trades the foreign exchange markets full-time and writes about them on Seeking Alpha. According to TipRanks, he is one of the Top 100 Bloggers.