GameStop founder Gary Kusin said it was an 'honor' retail investors targeted the company: 'I just grabbed some popcorn

<p><img src="https://static6.businessinsider.com/image/60171ee76dfbe10018e00f8c-1644/GettyImages-186952372.jpg" border="0" alt="gamestop store" data-mce-source="Ethan Miller/Getty Images" data-mce-caption="A GameStop Corp. store on November 5, 2013 in North Las Vegas, Nevada."></p><p></p><bi-shortcode id="summary-shortcode" data-type="summary-shortcode" class="mceNonEditable" contenteditable="false">Summary List Placement</bi-shortcode><p>GameStop's founder and his family are closely following the firm's exploding share price this month.&nbsp;</p><p>Ben Kusin, whose father Gary co-founded GameStop, had been an active member on the Reddit forum cheering on the company's spectacular rally. Kusin told <a href="https://www.cnbc.com/2021/01/31/gamestop-craziness-hits-close-to-home-for-ben-kusin-co-founders-son.html">CNBC's Ari Levy</a> his father and brother have been actively watching the drama unfold as GameStop shares skyrocketed <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/melvin-capital-lost-53-percent-january-after-gamestop-shares-skyrocketed-2021-1">as much as 2000% month-to-date</a>.&nbsp;</p><p>"It was worlds colliding when this went down," Ben Kusin told CNBC.&nbsp;</p><p>Encouraged by members on the popular Reddit forum r/WallStreetBets, scores of individuals poured investments into GameStop to burn the stock's short-sellers, like <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/citron-gamestop-reddit-short-position-covered-loss-reddit-andrew-left-2021-1-1030009872">Citron Research's Andrew Left</a>. The rally, which has turned into a <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/gamestop-wallstreetbets-reddit-trader-mania-populist-movement-occupy-wall-street-2021-1-1030022070">populist movement</a>, resulted in billions in losses for GameStop short sellers.&nbsp;</p><p>Gary Kusin, who founded the company in the 1980s, told CNBC it was "a little bit of an honor" that investors targeted GameStop for its short-squeeze attempt.</p><p><em><strong>Read more:</strong> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/d1-capital-stung-amc-short-bet-reddit-traders-dan-sundheim-2021-1'r=aa-sub">Hedge fund phenom Dan Sundheim's D1 Capital has been stung by the AMC short bet caught up in Reddit's trading frenzy</a></em></p><p>"I'm much more a spectator than I am participant," Gary Kusin added. "I just grabbed some popcorn."</p><p>GameStop's co-founder joins other high-profile spectators of the GameStop rally. Billionaires Elon Musk and Chamath Palihapitiya have cheered on retail investors driving the short-squeeze. Progressive lawmakers have called for <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gamestop-warren-aoc-slam-wall-street-market-like-a-casino-2021-1">stronger regulation</a> of the stock market to prevent market manipulation.</p><p>The rally represented a comeback for GameStop, the largest gaming retailer in the US, after years of <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gamestop-struggling-pandemic-stock-market-video-games-2021-1#the-video-game-industry-at-large-was-evolving-to-cater-to-new-consumer-demands-and-gamers-began-to-stream-or-download-games-online-from-their-homes-2">slow sales</a>. The company <a href="https://news.gamestop.com/news-releases/news-release-details/gamestop-reports-third-quarter-results-positive-start-fourth">closed</a> 462 stores in 2020.</p><p>A pandemic-induced surge in demand for video games, a major investment by Chewy co-founder Ryan Cohen, and the release of the PlayStation 5 all <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gamestop-struggling-pandemic-stock-market-video-games-2021-1#in-september-2020-ryan-cohen-the-cofounder-and-ex-ceo-of-online-pet-supply-company-chewy-bought-up-nearly-12-of-gamestops-shares-4">sparked a revival</a> for the video game store before this month's frenzy.</p><p>Some at GameStop have had a hard time dealing with the sudden surge. GameStop employees told <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/heres-what-happening-inside-some-gamestop-stores-across-the-country-2021-1">Insider's Reed Alexander</a> they've been fielding investing questions and bizarre interactions from customers. Employees said they haven't received guidance from GameStop corporate leadership on how to handle the influx of questions.</p><p><strong>SEE ALSO:&nbsp;<a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/melvin-capital-lost-53-percent-january-after-gamestop-shares-skyrocketed-2021-1" >GameStop short-seller Melvin Capital lost 53% this month after the Reddit-fueled frenzy sent shares soaring</a></strong></p><p><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/gamestop-founder-gary-kusin-family-following-reddit-frenzy-closely-honor-2021-1#comments">Join the conversation about this story &#187;</a></p> <p>NOW WATCH: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/how-parasite-delivered-one-of-the-best-twists-in-cinema-2020-2">What makes 'Parasite' so shocking is the twist that happens in a 10-minute sequence</a></p>
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