About

Inverse Cramer refers to the cliché, meme and investing strategy suggesting that stock market investors should do the opposite of anything Jim Cramer, the host of CNBC's Mad Money, recommends. The joke behind the slang term plays on Cramer’s reputation for making highly publicized stock picks that often underperform or experience the opposite of the intended movement. Although jokes about betting against Cramer's advice date back to the 2008 financial crisis, the meme gained widespread virality in the early 2020s, especially within online communities like the subreddit WallStreetBets and FinTwit (Finance Twitter) amid the rise of meme stocks.

Origin

Jim Cramer is an American television personality and former hedge fund manager who has been the host of Mad Money on CNBC since March 14th, 2005, where he provides stock market advice and investment commentary.

According to the New York Times,^[1] during the 2008 financial crisis, Cramer advised buying shares in Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, and Lehman Brothers, all of which suffered catastrophic losses or bankruptcy. A clip of Cramer recommending viewers buy Bear Stearns was shared by YouTuber^[5] politiclips on March 17th, 2008, where it gathered over 500,000 views in 17 years.

According to CBS News,^[2] on October 6th, 2008, with the S&P 500 Index at 1,056, Cramer advised investors to withdraw any funds needed within the next five years from the stock market. The market continued to decline, reaching a low of 666 on March 9th, 2009.

The earliest known mention of an investor following the opposite of Jim Cramer's advice and profiting is a February 9th, 2009, article by Bill Alpert in the Wall Street Journal.^[3] The article showed that trading against Cramer's Buy recommendations using short-term options had historically yielded 25 percent in a month.

CBS News's^[4] Alan Roth also conducted a similar experiment for Money Watch on December 18th, 2012, reporting a 22 percent growth in his portfolio over 22 days by following the opposite of Cramer's advice.

On October 10th, 2017, Twitter^[6] user @WSBConsensus posted the earliest known mention of the phrase "Inverse Cramer," a statement was was echoed in the replies to a October 27th, 2017, thread on the subreddit /r/Amd.^[7]

Don't forget the infamous "Inverse Cramer" Short $NVDA Long $AMD #BuyNVDAPuts #BuyAMDCalls $MU $APPL $GOOGL $HMNY https://t.co/9QUvAetUTv

— WallStreetBets & Co. (@WSBConsensus) October 10, 2017

Spread

The Twitter^[8] account "Inverse Cramer" @CramerTracker was launched in November 2021. On December 15th, 2021, Twitter^[9] user @iAnonPatriot tweeted about AMC stock rising despite Jim Cramer's negative tweets. The post gathered over 1,000 likes in four years.

On December 16th, 2021, Redditor /u/jsza87 tweeted, "Always inverse Jim Cramer," to the subreddit /r/WallStreetBets,^[10] gathering over 8,000 upvotes in four years. The post showed a ticker list of stocks that fell in value after Jim Cramer advised his audience to invest.

On March 2nd, 2023, Redditor /u/HYPED_UP_ON_CHARTS posted "The Inverse Jim Cramer ETF Has Officially Arrived," to the subreddit /r/WallStreetBets,^[11] gathering over 9,000 upvotes in two years. The ETF (Exchange-Traded Fund) allowed investors to systematically bet against Jim Cramer's stock recommendations.

Memes about following the inverse of Jim Cramer's advice continued into the 2025 Stock Market Crash. The former hedge fund manager warned of a "Black Monday" after markets reopened on April 7th, 2025, prompting some internet users to joke that he may have "jinxed" the country out of a recession.

On April 5th, 2025, X^[12] user @fprosk tweeted, "We are really testing the limits of the Reverse Jim Cramer now," in response to news that the CNBC host warned of a "Black Monday" with record-low stock prices on April 7th. The tweet gathered over 50,000 likes in two days.

On April 25th, 2025, Elon Musk^[13] responded to a news segment in which Jim Cramer said, "I'm putting my chips on Elon Musk," by writing, "Uh oh 😬 Inverse Cramer is tough karma to overcome! I’m calling weekend reviews with Autopilot to accelerate progress." The tweet gathered over 4,000 likes in a day.

Various Examples

Search Interest

External References