Mag-aral tayo today.
My reflections on NewTraderU’s 7 Best Traders in the World 
The entire post can be found in NewTraderU’s social media accounts, and while top of mind I could think of some more names to add, I spent the day reading about their lives on anything searchable over the net.
Here’s what I realized:
1. They’re seasoned, veteran traders. They’re pretty old. Let’s take a look at their birth years:
Jim Simons 1938
Ray Dalio 1949
Carl Icahn 1936
Steve Cohen 1956
Ken Griffin 1968
David Tepper 1957
George Soros 1930
This means many things to me: One, it takes decades to self-mastery and craft-mastery. You wouldn’t be with same people you started the journey with. Many friends have gone into other fields and interests, while here you are, still trading. Second, right at this very moment, the world is raising its next generation of the best traders.
2. Only a few reach the echelon of being an alpha.
Some of these traders have been awarded with Alpha Hedge Fund Hall of Fame. Personally, I wonder if I still aspire to be a billionaire, so freakin bad. Til I go back to my core, which is financial stewardship. What if God wants you to be one of the best traders. What if that’s your calling. What if that’s your passion, that wakes you up in the morning and keeps you awake at night. What if that makes you “more” as a person, makes you fully alive?
It’s a tug-of-war between contentment and going beyond. Only a few reach Forbes.
3. Some of them have approached trading scientifically and mathematically.
Because Math, is actually an art, an craftmanship, a science.
4. They quit being employed and put up their own fund during their 20’s and 30’s.
Understand it must have been easier to buy a seat at New Year Stock Exchange during 60’s or 70’s, same goes for putting up a brokerage firm in Pinas. Maybe that is why a cheaper alternative is via copytrading platforms which have provided low-cost fund management entry, and global accessibility for both copiers and investors.
Their fund has become the legacy.
5. They’re philanthropists.
All of them have been generous in support of causes. Some have put up their own foundations. Being a successful trader enables you to give more, to help more.
6. Their kids follow their footsteps.
Love this concept. I think I need to have 3-5 babies to have more chances of raising a trader hahaha of course I’d love all my babies. Interestingly, the liking towards trading can be passed on.
7. Wealth remains to be main scorecard in becoming the best.
I think it would be hard to ascertain today’s new set of market wizards. Asset classes have expanded (now we see crypto, and even inside the crypto ecosystem comes new mini assets). Brokerages run in thousands, platforms are just so many, brokers run their own competitions, just to name few things that complicate.
Still, everything boils down to performance. Everything else is futile, except results. Your portfolio will speak volumes of who you are. In the end, the only metric is how money has compounded through time.
How to reach this “billions” status is one great feat.
8. Lastly, some of these traders didn’t have successful marriages.
This is one thing I hope and pray will never happen to me. Maybe that’s why it is essentially crucial to choose a partner who we can build a future with, a family life, our dreams with. Because life isn’t all about money.
*******
Here’s the list from NewTraderU:
Jim Simons has a $21.6 billion current net worth. He founded Renaissance Technologies that runs the Medallion Fund the most successful quant fund in history, it runs a $10 billion black-box trading strategy and now only manages capital for Renaissance’s owners and employees. It had to return customers capital due to the rapid growth in the assets under management due to compounded growth it could not continue to scale its systems due to market liquidity concerns.
Ray Dalio has an $18.0 billion current net worth. He is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund firm, it manages $160 billion.
Carl Icahn has a $14.3 billion current net worth. His primary investing vehicle is Icahn Enterprises ticker symbol “IEP”. He also manages his own investment fund consisting of his own money and Icahn Enterprises funds.
Steve Cohen has a $14 billion current net worth. He ran SAC Capital, another one of the most successful hedge funds of all time. He had to close SAC Capital after the fund plead guilty to insider trading. Cohen was fined $1.8 billion in penalties. His fund Point72 opened back up to outside investor money in 2018 after his SEC two-year supervisory bar expired.
Ken Griffin has a $12.8 billion current net worth. Founded and manages Citadel, the legendary hedge fund that has $30 billion in assets under management. He also founded Citadel Securities, Wall Street’s largest market-making firms, which executes one in five stock trades in the U.S.
David Tepper has a $12.7 billion current net worth. He was one of the best hedge fund managers of his generation. He is the founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund based in Florida.
George Soros has a $8.3 billion current net worth. He managed the Quantum Fund, the most successful hedge fund in history generating over $40 billion in profits and produced approximately 20% per year compound returns before returning their capital and closing it to outside investors.
Original article posted on 5 September 2020
Sign up for my upcoming Satori Trading Masterclass to learn more how to trade global markets. You’ll get 8 trading books/journals/workbooks, 10 courses in 3 months, All Satori Learning Modules from Newbie Trader Roadmap to Trader Roadmap Full Course Levels 1-5 and exclusive Discord group. This is for those serious learners only. Check this link to find out more.