GoKawiilRetail investors drive record margin debt as traders like Hy Luu borrow heavily on stocks such as Tesla
CNBC reports that individual investors are increasingly using margin accounts — borrowing against their holdings to buy more stock — contributing to a record level of Wall Street margin debt. One case profiled is Hy Luu, a 29-year-old Houston engineering consultant who lives with his mother and began margin trading Tesla shares in 2021, at one point amassing more than $100,000 in margin debt and later exercising options that pushed his borrowing above $156,000.