24-Year-Old's $45 Billion Hedge Fund Collapses After Margin Trading Risks Materialize
On July 30, 2026, Situational Awareness LP, a high-profile AI-focused hedge fund managed by Leopold Aschenbrenner at age 24, was forced to liquidate its public equity portfolio after margin calls from Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase, and Bank of America. The fund had leveraged its positions four times over in a long-short strategy focused on artificial intelligence infrastructure stocks versus software incumbents. The collapse came just days after Jim Cramer warned investors about the dangers of holding data center-related trades financed with margin debt. During this period, Marvell Technology (MRVL) dropped 40%, while Adobe (ADBE) surged by nearly 27%. These movements wiped out Situational Awareness’s leveraged positions in under six weeks. The fund had grown from a few hundred million to $45 billion since its launch in late 2024, fueled largely by high returns and backing from prominent tech figures. It will continue as a private vehicle with remaining assets including a stake in Anthropic.
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Topics: AI_stocks hedge_funds leverage liquidation margin_trading