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The rise of GameStop Corporation (NYSE:GME) was one of the biggest storylines of 2021 with investors profiting from a short squeeze.

Investors could have also profited from following an investment in the company by Chewy founder Ryan Cohen.

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What Happened: Cohen, who disclosed his purchase of a 9% stake in GameStop in August 2020, was elected chairman of the board in June 2021 and became the company’s CEO on Sept. 28, 2023.

In late 2020, Cohen increased his stake in GameStop to 13%. In total, he paid an average of $8.40 for his shares in 2020.

Based on a share price of $7.30 on Sept. 1, 2020, the day after Cohen's purchase was unveiled, investors would have been able to buy 137 shares of GameStop with a $1,000 investment.

A 4-for-1 stock split by the video game retailer in July 2022 would have increased the stake to 548 GME shares.

Based on a price of $22.29 per share at the time of writing, the $1,000 investment would be worth $12,214.92 today. This represents a return of 1,121.5% over the last four years.

For comparison, the same $1,000 invested in the SPDR S&P 500 Global ETF on Sept. 1, 2020, would be worth $1,628.48 today, for a return of +62.8%.

Why It's Important: Cohen was one of the central characters in the GameStop storyline that played out in 2021 with retail investors taking on hedge funds in a short squeeze of epic proportions.

Investors bet on GameStop because they were confident in Cohen’s ability to address bankruptcy fears, a short squeeze, and the attention Keith Gill, aka Roaring Kitty, brought to the stock.

With news that short interest in GameStop was more than 100%, investors saw an opportunity to squeeze out the shorts and shares rose substantially, causing millions of dollars in losses for those betting against the stock.

GameStop shares hit a high of $483 in January 2021 and traded between $17.08 and $483 during the 2021 calendar year.