Let’s face it—YouTube has become the Wall Street of the modern era… if Wall Street were run by over-caffeinated bros wearing backwards hats screaming “TO THE MOON” while selling you a course for $997. Finance YouTube used to be about real strategies, diversification, long-term investing—but now? It’s a circus. And I’ve got front-row seats, popcorn in hand.
So today, let’s take a hilarious yet honest stroll through the most entertaining and outrageous finance grifters on YouTube—those guys and gals who’ve never met a penny stock they didn’t love or a crypto they didn’t call “the future of money.” Spoiler alert: They’re all driving Lambos. Or at least renting them.
The Penny Stock Pushers: “This One’s Gonna 10x, Bro!”
These guys are the OG snake oil salesmen. Except instead of wagons and tinctures, they’ve got clickbait thumbnails with red arrows, screaming faces, and charts that mysteriously always go up.
You know the type:
- “This Tiny Stock Will Be Bigger Than Tesla”
- “This $0.0004 Penny Stock Just Partnered With Amazon… Sort Of”
- “I Bought 50,000 Shares of This Company You’ve Never Heard Of!”
Here’s the thing: They always say they’re not giving financial advice, but somehow you’ve lost $3,000 and now own a stock whose office is a shed behind a Taco Bell.
Classic Grifter Move: Promoting a stock just before it tanks. And then pretending they “got out early.”
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Crypto Clowns: Bitcoin to $1 Million by Tuesday
No grifter list is complete without the Crypto Bros. These guys treat Bitcoin like it’s holy scripture and Dogecoin like it was handed down by Moses himself. They made TikToks at $60K, disappeared at $16K, and returned at $70K like nothing ever happened.
Favorite catchphrases include:
- “Not financial advice, but you should remortgage your house.”
- “Crypto is the only real money.”
- “The Fed is scared of Bitcoin, bro.”
They believe in decentralization, but somehow centralize your attention (and money) into shady altcoins, unbacked NFT projects, or “yield farms” that pay 10,000% APY for a week—then vanish faster than your ex after tax season.
Classic Grifter Move: Starting their own coin. Spoiler: It’s a rug pull.
The Course Kings: Pay to Get Poorer
These finance YouTubers are less about stocks and more about selling you the dream. They drive a rented Lamborghini, live in an Airbnb mansion, and claim they “escaped the 9-to-5” (aka, got fired from Jamba Juice).
They promise to teach you how to:
- “Trade like the pros”
- “Get rich in your sleep”
- “Turn $500 into $50,000 with this one weird trick”
…all for the low price of $997.
Classic Grifter Move: They make their real money from selling the course—not from investing. Irony level: Warren Buffett laughing on a pile of index funds.
The Clickbait Lords: Red Circles, Fake Faces, and FOMO
You can spot them from a mile away:
- A thumbnail with them gasping like they just saw a ghost
- An all-caps title like “CRASH INCOMING???” or “1000% GAIN???”
- A 17-minute video that says nothing until minute 16
They’ve mastered the art of the algorithm grift—serving up pure dopamine for the panicked investor.
You don’t watch them to learn. You watch them because it feels like a financial soap opera:
- One episode: “I’m quitting stocks forever.”
- Next episode: “Why I just bought $100,000 of this penny stock.”
- Final episode: “Oops. I got margin called.”
Classic Grifter Move: Reacting to their own bad advice by pretending they were “just experimenting.”
The Sponsored Shenanigans: “This Video is Brought to You By…”
Ah yes, the not-so-subtle sponsored grift. If you’ve ever watched a video that starts with “Before we dive into today’s trade idea, let’s talk about CryptoNutWallet.com…”—you already know.
Some of these finance YouTubers will literally shill anything if it pays:
- Sketchy crypto wallets
- Micro-cap stock promotions
- Apps that charge $29.99/mo to tell you what Apple’s P/E ratio is
Classic Grifter Move: Turning every financial video into a commercial break.
If you made it through their content and didn’t download at least three scammy apps, congrats—you’re officially immune to snake oil.
The Rebound Experts: “I Told You So” (After It Happens)
These grifters are retroactive geniuses. You didn’t hear them say “buy NVIDIA” until after NVIDIA was up 400%.
They suddenly “called the crash” (they didn’t), and their thumbnails are retrofitted with titles like:
- “Why I was RIGHT about Tesla”
- “Told you Bitcoin would crash (see video from 3 years ago)”
- “How I made $1,000,000 (hypothetically, in a simulator)”
Classic Grifter Move: Deleting their bad takes and reposting edited videos that make them look like finance Nostradamus.
The Emotional Manipulators: Your Money, Their Drama
Let’s not forget the sob-story grifters. Their favorite content genre? “I lost everything… and here’s how YOU can avoid my mistake (buy my course).”
They cry on camera. They do fake apology videos. They create content arcs like they’re in the MCU of finance.
Example episode arc:
- Ep 1: “My wife left me because of options trading.”
- Ep 2: “This one stock saved my life.”
- Ep 3: “We’re getting remarried, thanks to Bitcoin!”
Classic Grifter Move: Emotional bait. They monetize the fall and the redemption.
Honorable (Dis)Mentions
- Jeremy from Financial Education: The OG of hyping growth stocks that go bust harder than a firecracker in a microwave.
- Meet Kevin: Who has pivoted more times than a fidget spinner on Adderall—from real estate to stocks to running for governor to… airplane finance?
- Andre Jikh: Magic tricks and credit card affiliate links. Every video is like “Wanna see a Roth IRA disappear?”
Why We Still Watch Them Anyway
Look, we all love to hate these channels—but we still click. They’re entertaining. They give us hope, drama, and something to laugh at when our 401(k) is down 18% and our penny stock is being delisted.
And hey, not all grifters are evil. Some are just… misguided optimists with editing software and a YouTube Premium trial.
Final Thoughts: Grift Responsibly
YouTube finance is a wild, unregulated casino where the loudest voice often wins—even if they’re wrong 90% of the time. So here’s my advice:
- Don’t invest in anything you found via a thumbnail featuring flames or laser eyes.
- Don’t buy a course from someone who says “millionaire mindset” every five seconds.
- And most importantly, don’t take financial advice from a guy in a hot tub talking about altcoins.
Unless, of course, you’re in it for the laughs—then by all means, smash that like button.
Disclaimer: This post is intended for entertainment purposes only and should not be considered financial advice. Any resemblance to actual YouTube grifters, living or dead, is probably intentional.