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Who is Nathan Anderson of Hindenburg, which targeted the Adani Group? Why is it shutting down?

Jan 16, 2025 02:43 PM IST

In 2017, Anderson founded Hindenburg Research, naming it after the 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster. 

Nathan Anderson, the founder of Hindenburg Research, announced his decision to disband the investment research firm on Thursday. Hindenburg has made waves with its investigations which have caused losses worth billions for major firms like the Adani Group and Nikola.

Hindenburg Research founder Nathan Anderson (Live Mint)
Hindenburg Research founder Nathan Anderson (Live Mint)

Here's everything we know about the man behind the firm that has challenged some of the biggest names in business.

Who is Nathan Anderson?

Nathan Anderson hails from the state of Connecticut in the US and was raised by his father, who was a university professor, and his mother who worked as a nurse.

Also Read: Hindenburg Research, whose report battered Adani shares, to shut down: Founder

During his years at the University of Connecticut, he pursued international business studies. He later qualified for two financial professional certifications - the chartered alternative investment analyst (CAIA) and the chartered financial analyst (CFA).

For a brief stint between 2004 and 05, he also worked as an ambulance driver in Israel before he began his financial career at FactSet Research Systems Inc., where he found the analysis “run-of-the-mill”, according to an interview with Wall Street Journal.

Also Read: Adani Group shares rise as much as 9% after Hindenburg Research announces shutdown

He then took a job vetting potential investments for wealthy people's private wealth management services and soon after founded his first firm, ClaritySpring.

Hindenburg Research

In 2017, Anderson founded Hindenburg Research, naming it after the 1937 Hindenburg airship disaster. The name symbolizes the firm's mission to identify companies on the brink of collapse.

Anderson envisioned the company as a watchdog, ensuring that large corporations were truthful and providing investors with crucial insights.

Also Read: Hindenburg Research founder Nate Anderson to close short-seller: Read full statement

Hindenburg Research specializes in uncovering fraud, lack of accountability and other issues within public companies. The firm conducts in-depth research and publishes reports that cause significant declines in stock prices.

In 2023 and in 2024 as well, Hindenburg's report on the Adani Group caused a stir, with the Group stating that the firm had published lies and many politicians in India also rubbishing the firm's claims that the Adani Group had engaged in fraud and stock manipulation.

Their report in 2024 also accused the SEBI chief of having a stake in the Adani group's ‘money-siphoning’ scam.

Disbanding

On Thursday, in a message on his website he said, “As I’ve shared with family, friends and our team since late last year, I have made the decision to disband Hindenburg Research. The plan has been to wind up after we finished the pipeline of ideas we were working on. And as of the last Ponzi cases we just completed and are sharing with regulators, that day is today.”

While he cited the toll of the "rather intense, and at times, all encompassing" nature of the work as the reason for his decision", critics were quick to link the shutting down Hindenburg's alleged ties with George Soros and the so-called deep state being under significant pressure from the incoming Trump administration.

Adani Group CFO Jugeshinder Robbie Singh in a cryptic post on X said: "Kitne Ghazi Aaye, Kitne Ghazi Gaye"

Typically, short-sellers like Anderson, who managed his firm's own money but not that of others, bet against companies they believe are plagued with mismanagement or involved in some fraud/scam. Short sellers borrow a stock to sell it in the expectation the price will fall, then repurchase the shares and pocket the difference. They book loss if the reverse happens.

Hindenburg in January 2023 published a report accusing the Adani group of “pulling the largest con in the corporate history”, wiping out more than USD 150 billion in value of the group's shares at their lowest point. Adani group vehemently denied all the allegations including that being "engaged in a brazen stock manipulation and accounting fraud scheme over the course of decades" and improper use of offshore tax havens to shore up group share prices.

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