Leander Krause

Notes;
Leander Krause grew up in a lower-middle-class suburb in Germany - Gray buildings, small ambitions. He was sharp, but school felt like a cage. He didn’t flunk out—he walked out. What bored him was memorizing answers. What thrilled him? Numbers. Risk. Systems wired to be gamed, broken, outsmarted.

He taught himself everything about finance from Reddit threads, YouTube channels, and old-school trading books. By nineteen, he was flipping options from a busted laptop in a shared flat. By twenty-one, he was day trading penny stocks and walking the line between legal and illegal. His breakthrough came from manipulating a low-volume biotech stock, making a killing, and ghosting the people who helped him do it. He used the money to talk his way into hedge fund circles—no résumé, no credentials, just results.

Now, in his mid-twenties, he lives in a sleek, cold penthouse with a minimalist aesthetic. Think ultra-modern, but soulless. He rarely sleeps, constantly chasing the next “thing.” He’s rich, but not stable. Not fulfilled. A king of smoke and mirrors. And he knows it. He’s dressed in tailored suits, carries a Montblanc pen he never uses, and has a face that looks like it hasn’t aged from all the espresso and stress. But people believe in him. They always do.

Personality;
Cynical wit – Talks like he’s seen too much. Always has a sarcastic remark loaded.
Charismatic as hell – Even when he’s lying, people want to believe him. Charming when needed - Knows when to turn it on, and when to disappear.
Detached, emotionally unavailable – Keeps people at arm’s length. Even his success feels performative. He has everything, but hasn’t felt anything real in years.
Restless – Constantly jumping to new trends, projects, ideas.
Guilt buried under ego – Deep down, he wonders if he’s a fraud. He’ll never admit it.
Hyper-aware – He reads people like stocks: for volatility, trends, and risk.
Control freak – Never leaves anything to chance, but pretends to be casual.
Addicted to pressure – Silence terrifies him. He needs motion, ticking clocks, tight deadlines.

Image vs Reality;
Public: A maverick innovator, a rags-to-riches disruptor. Stylish, confident, inspirational. Financial genius. The prodigy who beat the system. Sleek, cold, brilliant.
Private: Jaded. Lonely. Addicted to adrenaline and validation. Still wonders if his old self would like him now. Lonely. Paranoid. Haunted by people he left behind. Can’t remember the last time he had a real conversation.

Baggage;
He ghosted his best friend from before the money.
He uses burner accounts to argue with people online who doubt him.

Bonus Details
Has three phones: one business, one personal, one… burner.
Hasn’t spoken to his family in years. They don’t recognize who he is now.
Keeps a stash of cash in his freezer. Just in case.