Carson Block

Grew up in the wealthy Manhattan suburb of Summit, N.J. Earned a business degree from the University of Southern California, where he also studied Chinese, in 1998. Earned a degree from Chicago-Kent College of Law in 2005. Block earned his reputation as a short seller a decade ago through targeting U.S.-listed Chinese companies that he claimed were frauds. More recently, his San Francisco-based firm focused on British litigation-finance firm Burford Capital Ltd. and Japanese biotech stock PeptiDream Inc. Short sellers seek to benefit from a decline in a company’s share price. August, 1998: Moved to Shanghai, where he tried to start a Chinese equity-focused research firm. He soon abandoned the plan and moved back to California. 1999: Worked at the L.A. office of CIBC World Markets for seven months. 1999-2001: Joined father William Block's firm WAB Capital, which links micro-cap companies with potential institutional investors in exchange for warrants or preferred stock. 2005: Returned to Shanghai to join the corporate practice of U.S. firm Jones Day. 2007: Left the law firm with plans to start a Singapore-based wealth management business for wealthy Chinese. Stayed in Shanghai to co-author Doing Business in China for Dummies. 2008: Launched troubled Shanghai self-storage business, Love Box. June 28, 2010: Muddy Waters publishes a report on Orient Paper Inc., alleging the Chinese company is a fraud. Before publishing, Block and his business partner Sean Regan buy $4,000 worth of Orient Paper "put" options. December 17 2019: In a report on NMC, Muddy Waters hinted at potential overpayment for assets, inflated cash balances and understated debt. Shares of the United Arab Emirates’ biggest private health-care provider have since plunged 67%, and the firm is now the focus of takeover speculation. The sell-off also spread to Finablr, whose stock has tumbled 64% in that span.