James Joseph Cramer (born February 10, 1955) is an American television personality, author, entertainer, and former hedge fund manager.

[8] Among his first jobs, starting in 1971, Cramer sold Coca-Cola and then ice cream at Veterans Stadium during Philadelphia Phillies games.

While at Harvard, alumnus Michael Kinsley introduced him to The New Republic owner Martin Peretz, who contacted Cramer to write a book review.

[9][19] During his years at Harvard Law School, Cramer worked as a minor research assistant for Alan Dershowitz.

Early investors included friend and Harvard classmate Eliot Spitzer,[25] Steve Brill, and Martin Peretz.

He was accused by some of an unethical practice when he made a $2 million personal gain after buying stocks before his recommendation article was published, though he was candid in the article that he had purchased the stock; however, according to Ira Lee Sorkin, former head of the New York office of the S.E.C., inasmuch as Cramer was a writer for a general-interest publication, an argument can be made that Cramer did not breach any obligations.

The stated goal of the show is to provide people engaging in do-it-yourself investing with "the knowledge and the tools that will empower you to be a better investor".

[13] Cramer has also made appearances on Today, NBC Nightly News, Live with Regis and Kelly, Cheap Seats, Late Night with Conan O'Brien, The Tonight Show with Jay Leno, Late Show with David Letterman, Jimmy Kimmel Live!

The conflict began when Fox complained that Cramer promoted TheStreet stock on its network without giving advance notice to the program's producer.

These stocks were 724 Solutions, Ariba, Digital Island, Exodus Communications, InfoSpace, Inktomi, Mercury Interactive, Sonera, VeriSign, and Veritas Software.

He recommended investing in Bear Stearns, Merrill Lynch, Morgan Stanley, Wachovia, and Lehman Brothers before the stocks fell in value significantly and several went out of business.

[47] On October 6, 2008, on Today, when the S&P 500 Index was valued at 1,056, Cramer suggested to investors, "Whatever money you need for the next five years, please take it out of the stock market.

[50] A February 9, 2009, article in The Wall Street Journal said that trading against Cramer's Buy recommendations using short-term options had historically yielded 25% in a month.

[54] Another criticism of Actions Alerts Plus was that it did not compare itself to indexes that include dividend reinvestment (as the SEC requires for stock-oriented mutual funds).

"[55] A study by Wharton researchers Jonathan Hartley and Matthew Olson found that in the timeframe of August 2001 to March 2016, Cramer's charitable trust underperformed the S&P 500 primarily as a result of underexposure to market returns in years after the 2007–2008 financial crisis.

Wharton finance professor Robert Stambaugh said he didn't think the findings showed significant underperformance or outperformance when adjusting for a variety of factors, but did say "It's a commendable attempt to dig more deeply into the style that underlies Cramer's stock picks.

"[56][57] In a December 2006 interview, Cramer described activities used by hedge fund managers to manipulate stock prices—some of debatable legality and others illegal.

"[64][65] On March 14, 2008, the stock lost more than half of its value on news of a Fed bailout and $2/share takeover by JPMorgan Chase.

[71] In response to a reporter's question, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs replied, "If you turn on a certain program, it's geared to a very small audience.

Look at the incredible decline in the stock market, in all indices, since the inauguration of the president, with the drop accelerating when the budget plan came to light because of the massive fear and indecision the document sowed: Raising taxes on the eve of what could be a second Great Depression, destroying the profits in healthcare companies, tinkering with the mortgage deduction at a time when U.S. house price depreciation is behind much of the world's morass and certainly the devastation affecting our banks, and pushing an aggressive cap and trade program that could raise the price of energy for millions of people."

The article said: "It isn't that Cramer disagrees with Obama's vision for the country – he even agrees with taxing the rich – but now is not the time to put those plans into action.

The president needs to solve our housing, employment, and financial problems, and only then turn his attention to healthcare and changing the mortgage deduction.

"[74] Cramer wrote in 2009 that Nouriel Roubini was "intoxicated" with his own "prescience and vision", and should realize that things are better than he predicted.

In a December 2006 interview from TheStreet's "Wall Street Confidential" webcast, Cramer said, "A lot of times when I was short at my hedge fund.

"[80] However, Stewart played several video clips from 2006 where Cramer discussed the spreading of false rumors to drive down stock prices and encouraged short-selling by hedge funds as a means to generate returns.

"[83][84] When the transcript from the August 7, 2007, meeting of the Federal Reserve Open Markets Committee was subsequently released on August 28, 2007,[85] it showed that Cramer's comments elicited laughter from participants during a comment from Dennis Lockhart, president, and CEO of the Federal Reserve Bank of Atlanta.

[87][88][89][90][91] On Hardball with Chris Matthews on September 19, 2008, Cramer blamed the Federal Reserve for the United States housing bubble.

[97] Upon the launch of the fund, prior to Meta's earnings, Cramer responded on Twitter by touting his reputation and claiming the ETF would not last long before stating he wouldn't be making further comments on the company.

On April 18, 2015, Cramer married Lisa Cadette Detwiler, a real-estate broker, and general manager of The Longshoreman, an Italian bistro/restaurant in the borough of Brooklyn in New York City.

[100] In a 2013 interview on The Carlos Watson Show, Cramer said that he dealt with mental health issues surrounding his anger and his workplace behavior, attributing the problem to his childhood experiences with his father.