Editing Jim Cramer (section)

==Education and early career==
In 1977, Cramer graduated ''[[magna cum laude]]'' from [[Harvard College]] with a [[Bachelor of Arts]] in government.<ref name="harvardhost">{{cite web |date=December 23, 2005 |title=School to host broadcast of 'Mad Money' featuring graduate Jim Cramer |url=http://today.law.harvard.edu/school-to-host-broadcast-of-mad-money-featuring-graduate-jim-cramer/ |access-date=March 3, 2025 |work=Harvard Law Today}}</ref> While at Harvard, he was the president and editor-in-chief of ''[[The Harvard Crimson]]''.<ref name=harvardhost/> Additionally, Cramer was a [[National Merit Scholarship Program|National Merit Scholar]].<ref>{{Cite web |last=Blumenthal |first=Jeff |date=December 16, 2021 |title=Jim Cramer Comes Home |url=https://www.bizjournals.com/philadelphia/news/2021/12/16/jim-cramer-comes-home-the-cnbc-host-sounds-off.html |access-date=March 3, 2025 |website=[[American City Business Journals|Philadelphia Business Journal]]}}</ref>

After college, Cramer was an entry-level reporter, making $15,000 per year.<ref name=danrather/> Beginning March 1, 1978, Cramer worked for the ''[[Tallahassee Democrat]]'' in [[Tallahassee, Florida]], where he was one of the first people to cover the [[Ted Bundy]] murders since he lived only a few blocks away. Then-executive editor [[Richard Oppel]] said: "[Cramer] was like a driving ram. He was great at getting the story."<ref name=madman/> He subsequently worked for the ''[[Los Angeles Herald-Examiner]]'' writing obituaries. During this time, his apartment was robbed and he lost everything, forcing him to live out of his car for nine months.<ref>{{cite news |last=Cahillane |first=Kevin |date=November 6, 2005 |title=Crazy, Like a Fox |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2005/11/06/nyregion/nyregionspecial2/crazy-like-a-fox.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 3, 2025 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref> He also worked for [[Governor of California]] [[Jerry Brown]].<ref name=pabook/> Cramer was one of the first reporters at ''[[American Lawyer]]''.<ref>{{cite news |last=Margolick |first=David |date=March 24, 1989 |title=At the Bar |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1989/03/24/us/the-law-at-the-bar.html |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 3, 2025 |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

In 1984, Cramer received a [[Juris Doctor]] degree from [[Harvard Law School]].<ref name=harvardhost/> Cramer started investing in the [[stock market]] while he attended law school.<ref name=pabook/> He made enough from trading to cover his tuition.<ref>{{cite news |last=Kelley |first=Margie |date=July 1, 2001 |title=In the Money |url=https://today.law.harvard.edu/feature/money/ |access-date=March 3, 2025 |work=Harvard Law Today}}</ref> Cramer began promoting his holdings by leaving stock picks on his answering machine. While at Harvard, alumnus [[Michael Kinsley]] introduced him to ''[[The New Republic]]'' owner [[Martin Peretz]], who contacted Cramer to write a book review. After first profiting from the stock picks he heard on Cramer's answering machine, Peretz gave Cramer $500,000 to invest. In two years, Cramer made $150,000 for Peretz.<ref name=madman/><ref name="wild">{{cite news |last=Andrews |first=Suzanna |date=March 22, 2011 |title=Wild on TheStreet.com |url=https://www.vanityfair.com/news/1999/06/jim-cramer-199906 |url-access=subscription |access-date=March 3, 2025 |work=[[Vanity Fair (magazine)|Vanity Fair]]}}</ref> During his years at Harvard Law School, Cramer worked as a minor research assistant for [[Alan Dershowitz]]. He assisted Dershowitz's [[Sunny von Bülow#Appeal|campaign to acquit]] alleged murderer [[Claus von Bülow]], even though Cramer believed von Bülow was "supremely guilty".<ref>{{cite book |last=Cramer |first=Jim |url=https://archive.org/details/jimcramersrealmo00cram/page/27 |title=Jim Cramer's Real Money: Sane Investing in an Insane World |publisher=[[Simon & Schuster]] |year=2005 |isbn=978-0-7432-2489-5 |page=[https://archive.org/details/jimcramersrealmo00cram/page/27 27] |access-date=March 3, 2025}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Dershowitz |first=Alan |author-link=Alan Dershowitz |date=July 18, 2011 |title=Jim Cramer's breach of trust: Dershowitz commentator's statement on Claus von Bulow |url=https://www.nydailynews.com/opinion/jim-cramer-breach-trust-dershowitz-commentator-statement-claus-von-bulow-article-1.159696 |access-date=March 3, 2025 |website=[[New York Daily News]]}}</ref>