Mad Money is an American finance television program hosted by Jim Cramer that began airing on CNBC on March 14, 2005.

Since 2006, Mad Money has also conducted "Back to School" events, in which the show travels to universities across the United States.

Mad Money host Jim Cramer, a former hedge fund manager, provides the viewer with tips and recommendations regarding the stock market and investing.

"[11][12][13] To make Mad Money entertaining, Cramer used numerous gimmicks in the early years of the show,[14] including costumes and props.

[4] Cramer has a panel of oversized red buttons, which activate various sound effects and onscreen graphics,[18][19][20][21] including those related to bulls and bears.

Ka-ching wore a CNBC T-shirt, sat in Cramer's chair, pressed the sound-effect buttons, and threw the bull figurines around the set.

He feverishly bounces around the studio, rants at the camera and bangs on buttons blaring the sound effects of cash registers and bowling pins, growling bears and raging bulls.

"[8] Cramer himself wrote of the show in 2007: "I say stupid things, yell 'Booyah' with alarming frequency, and occasionally wear a diaper or jump into a pile of lettuce to illustrate the finer points of investing.

[5] On February 25, 2008, Cramer introduced an online-only version dubbed Lightning Round Overtime, viewable on the program's website.

"[33] He explained the term's origin in 2005: "Here's what happened: A guy calls me on my radio show, and he says 'You made me a 100 smackers on K-Mart – a hundred points...' – he's from New Orleans – '...and we have one word for that down here and it's booyah.

"[5] The idea for Mad Money was pitched to NBC Entertainment president Jeff Zucker,[45] who, according to Cramer, greenlit the project despite "the objections of just about everyone at CNBC".

"[5] Cramer devises "the ideas and the serious content", then writes an early draft "with as much smart and funny stuff" as he can in his spare time.

He and Mason then exchange drafts before settling on a final version,[5] which is written after the stock market closes at 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

The featured guest on the show was New York attorney general Eliot Spitzer, a classmate of Cramer at Harvard Law School.

[60][61][62] "Main Event III" was broadcast on November 30, 2005, and featured Mel Karmazin, CEO of Sirius Satellite Radio.

[84] "MMX", a special episode to celebrate the 10th anniversary, was taped from the show's studio set in front of a live audience and aired on March 12, 2015.

The 500th episode of Mad Money aired on June 11, 2007, and featured memorable clips from throughout the show, as well as viewer call-ins and stock questions.

[87][88] The 1,000th episode aired on April 8, 2009, and the Mad Money staff surprised Cramer by having several unexpected guests join the show by phone, including Trump, Google chief executive Eric Schmidt, and football coach Andy Reid.

[28][89] The 2,000th episode of Mad Money aired on October 1, 2013, and was taped outside the New York Stock Exchange Building in front of a live audience.

[22][90] Mad Money quickly developed a loyal following after its premiere,[14][6] and brokerage firms began to include Cramer's stock advice in their research notes.

"[15] Bill Alpert of Barron's wrote of the Lightning Round, "It's dazzling -- a display of Cramer's freakish ability to remember something about thousands of stocks.

[93] Based on a 2010 analysis of Cramer's advice, author Frank Partnoy wrote, "Mad Money is entertaining, but its recommendations won't make you rich.

[96] By August 2005, Mad Money averaged 200,000 daily viewers and had become the second highest-rated program on CNBC, in what used to be its second lowest-rated time slot.

[6] In the midst of the Great Recession, ratings reached 427,000 average viewers in September 2008, nearly doubling its viewership from weeks earlier.

This occurred shortly after the bankruptcy of Lehman Brothers, the federal bailout of American International Group, and the sale of Merrill Lynch.

Character Jacob Moore spreads rumors about the nationalization of an African oil field, Hydra Offshore, and Cramer advises his viewers to sell their stock.

[106] Money Monster, a 2016 film, focuses on a flamboyant financial television host and his crew being taken hostage by an upset investor, who lost his life savings on a bad stock recommendation.

The film received comparisons to Cramer and Mad Money, although director Jodie Foster and star George Clooney denied any connection.