Christopher DeVocht’s life reads like the ultimate rags-to-riches-to-lawsuit tale. A carpenter from Sooke, British Columbia, who hit the financial jackpot and accumulated millions thanks to Tesla. Happily ever after right? Wrongo.

(Source: Giphy) 

You see, as the age old saying goes, what goes up must come down. And now, fast forward to today, Mr. Devochtt is suing the Royal Bank of Canada (RBC) and accounting firm Grant Thornton LLP because, according to him, they helped him turn $415 million into... well, nothing. 

(Source: CBA) 

In short, back in 2019, DeVocht was just your average part-time investor, holding a modest $88,000 in Tesla stock and derivatives. But then came the Tesla rocket ship. As Elon Musk’s band of promises (and empty promises) shot the stock up, it also did the same for DeVocht’s portfolio. Whereas, by June 2020, he was officially sitting on $26 million CAD - and by the time 2021 rolled around? Well, the dude’s net worth had exploded to an eye-watering $415 million. Translation: The dude had “luck” as a friggin pet. 

(Source: Giphy) 

However, somewhere between watching his net worth skyrocket and trying to figure out how to... you know, not lose it all, DeVocht decided it was time to bring in the big guns. Enter: “RBC’s Private Banking”. As it turns out, DeVocht claims he turned to RBC for advice on transitioning from aggressive options trading to something more... stable. You know, like “Hey, I’m a multimillionaire now, maybe it’s time to stop gambling with my great-great-great grandson's future college tuition money.”

(Source: Giphy) 

But according to DeVocht's lawsuit, RBC had other plans. Instead of helping him secure his wealth and “essentially retire,” they set him up with a margin account—aka the kind that lets you borrow money to make even more trades. That decision alone should’ve had DeVochts eyes and ears perking up… 

But, but, but…  it gets even better (or worse, depending on how you look at it). DeVocht was advised—twice—to donate to the RBC Charitable Gift Fund, totaling $25.5 million over two years. The idea was to nab some sweet tax credits, but as anyone who's seen Tesla's stock chart can tell you, timing is everything. And when the market started tanking, those charitable donations only added insult to injury.

(Source: Giphy) 

If you recall, Tesla’s stock took a nosedive in 2022 (plunging more than -74% in share value). And thanks to that margin account, DeVocht was forced to sell shares to pay back the loans he’d taken out. Which is precisely when the house of cards really started to collapse. 

As the market tanked, so did his fortune. In the end, what had once been a $415 million fortune literally evaporated into a massive pile of nothing. In fact, the lawsuit lays it out pretty bluntly: “In time, the plaintiffs' security holdings were worth nothing.” An American (errr, Canadian) travesty I tell ya. 

(Source: Financial Post) 

For this reason, DeVocht’s lawsuit claims that RBC didn’t properly advise him on how to protect his fortune. Instead of guiding him toward safer, income-generating investments, they opened the door for him to go all-in (again) with Tesla. The margin account became a ticking time bomb, and when Tesla stock fell, it blew up his entire portfolio.

Now with that said, RBC wasn’t alone in this clusterf**k either. DeVocht’s also pointing fingers at Grant Thornton LLP, the accountants who gave him tax advice. He says they added fuel to the fire by not properly planning for the wealth transition, leaving him exposed when things went south. 

(Source: OPM Wire) 

So given this, what’s the takeaway here? Well, this isn’t just one guy’s sob story (though, admittedly, it's a pretty wild one). DeVocht’s case is a cautionary tale about what can happen when you put all your eggs in one very, very volatile basket. Financial experts love to preach diversification like it’s a religion—and for good reason. Concentrating your entire net worth in a single stock, no matter how hot it is at the moment (*cough* Tesla), is a recipe for disaster.

And then there’s the whole margin account issue. Sure, leveraging your investments can amplify gains when the market’s bullish. But when things go south? Well, you’ve just made your losses exponentially worse. Just look how that all played for those greedy bastards over at AIG in 2008. 

(Source: Giphy) 

However, when it comes to poor DeVocht, it seems like the complexity of his newfound wealth was a little too much, and the people he looked to help him navigate it, ended up being filled with delusion and idiocy instead. Whereas, unfortunately for the carpenter-turned multi-millionaire-now carpenter with no retirement, he’s left fighting a legal battle to recover some shred of his former fortune.

So while we all watch the market tank today as Treasury Yields throw a massive middle finger to bulls today, things could be alot worse for you. Like losing over $400 million dollars worse. 

(Source: Wall Street Journal) 

In the meantime, don’t be dumb with your money… you’ve worked hard and exchanged long grueling hours for your wealth (depending on if you’re labor includes OnlyFans of course) so act accordingly on who you look to when it comes to investments. Even the most seasoned end up falling short… just look at the losers analysts at Goldman Sachs. 

However, if you hate tieing up all your money in volatile market, yet you want quick opportunities with massive potential moves? Well we gotchu over here at Stocks.News. In fact, our Friday alert catapulted 53%, and our next one tomorrow is set to be even more of a banger!  So if that suits your fancy, click here to get in on the details. 

In the meantime, stay safe and stay frosty, friends! Until next time..

Stocks.News holds positions in Tesla as mentioned in the article.