The Disgrace of Karen “Supertrader” Bruton (Part 3)

Today I conclude my transcript of the Karen Bruton “Distinguished Alumni” award video by Wake Forest University in 2014 (before filing of SEC complaint).

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JH: The other hope is Hope Investments, which she created after several years of Just Hope Internationl (JHI) and she’s taking her profits from this and she’s created a foundation that is feeding JHI. And that’s really exciting. Especially for me who always looks at not-for-profits as wanting more and more money, this is going to be self-generating.

JC: Karen’s facilitating all that so she’s creating a structural systemic change to a region not just simply going in and trying to make a difference for a period of time.

BT: I have heard her speak of her life and her experience growing up in North Carolina, her academic achievements—all of it was preparing her for the work that she would do in trading and non-profit through Just Hope and that’s in circles where you guys aren’t around listening but she’s saying it anyway.

JC: As students and as constituents of the Wake Forest community, we all appreciate the fact that we hear about President Nasante, we see it etched in stone on the walls, we read about it in the magazine every now and then… but to see someone who has grabbed a hold of it and has really made it a model for their life like Karen has is truly remarkable. It’s amazing to see someone who has dedicated their entire life to that. She would tell you that she sees it as a grand adventure… and she wants as many people to be affected by it but she also wants many people to participate in that.

Sosnoff: You’re talking about a very rare person. This is not somebody who had a liquidation event like an IPO or something for hundred million or a billion or $10B. This is somebody that is incredibly self-made at a certain point in life when it’s incredibly difficult to reach that level of achievement and then to turn around and to make the contribution that she’s made to good will? Pretty amazing…

JH: Karen, I’ve known you for at least 30 years and I’ve known you to be an adventurous type—very smart—but I never imagined you’d be where you are today. I know you’ve completed many things on your bucket list—Andrea Bocelli concert in Italy, Brooks and Dunn in Las Vegas, the Eagles—but I know nothing means as much to you as the word “hope” and I’m so proud of you and sorry that I can’t be with you tonight but I know you are most deserving of this award.

BT: Karen congratulations on your award. I cannot think of a more deserving person. I am blessed and privileged not only to know you as a person, to consider you like family, but to work under your leadership and to partner with you in this great adventure.

RH: I’m very very proud to support, endorse, and congratulate Karen on this distinctive honor that she is receiving from Wake Forest, which is so well deserved. Thank you.

MWS: Hey Karen… congratulations on your prestigious award from Wake Forest… very impressed by your work how you’ve brought the for- and non-profit world together. I celebrate your life tonight all the way from Franklin, TN. I wish I could be there in person. I hope it’s a great night and one that you’ll never forget. You’ve inspired so many and I’m one of those people.

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To say “this did not age well” would be a vast understatement.