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Ray Dalio

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Ray Dalio
Born
Raymond Thomas Dalio

(1949-08-08) August 8, 1949 (age 75)
New York City, U.S.
EducationLong Island University, Post (BS)
Harvard University (MBA)
OccupationHedge fund manager
Known forFounder of Bridgewater Associates
SpouseBarbara Dalio
Children4 sons, including Paul

Raymond Thomas Dalio (born August 8, 1949)[1] is an American billionaire and hedge-fund manager, who has been co-chief investment officer of Bridgewater Associates since 1985. He founded Bridgewater in 1975 in New York.[2][3]

Dalio was born in New York City and attended C.W. Post College of Long Island University before receiving an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1973.

In 2013, Bridgewater was listed as the largest hedge fund in the world.[4][5]

Dalio is the author of the 2017 book, Principles: Life & Work, about corporate management and investment philosophy.[6][7] As of December 2024, Dalio ranks #124 on Forbes' Richest People in the World with a net worth of $15.4 billion.[8]

Early life and education

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Dalio was born in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of New York City's Queens Borough.[9] When he was 8, his family moved from Jackson Heights to Manhasset in Nassau County, Long Island, New York. He is the son of a jazz musician, Marino Dallolio (1911–2002), and Ann, a homemaker.[9][10][11] He is of Italian descent.

He attended Herricks High School.[12]

He received a bachelor's degree in finance from C.W. Post College of Long Island University. After graduating from C.W. Post College, Dalio worked as a clerk on the New York Stock Exchange.[12]

He received an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1973.[13][14]

Investment career

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During his time at Harvard, Dalio and his friends created the company that later became Bridgewater Associates. Its goal was to trade commodities. The venture yielded little fruit.[12] Dalio later used the name Bridgewater for his hedge fund.

After graduating from Harvard, Dalio moved to Wilton, Connecticut, where he traded out of a converted barn.[9] He then worked on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange and traded commodity futures.[13] He later worked as the Director of Commodities at Dominick & Dominick LLC.[15] In 1974, he became a futures trader and broker at Shearson Hayden Stone, a securities firm[13] run by Sandy Weill, who later became famous for building up Citigroup. At the firm, Dalio's job was to advise cattle ranchers, grain producers, and other farmers on how to hedge risks, primarily with futures.[16] Dalio was fired from Shearson Hayden Stone after punching his boss in the face while drunk at a New Year's Eve party in 1974.[16]

Founding of Bridgewater Associates

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In 1975, he founded Bridgewater Associates.[17] Bridgewater started out as a wealth advisory firm, which served numerous corporate clients, mostly retained from Dalio's job at Shearson Hayden Stone.[12] The company began publishing a paid subscription research report, Daily Observations, in which it analyzed global market trends.[18] Dalio's big break came when McDonald's signed on as a client of his firm. Bridgewater then began to grow rapidly. The firm signed on larger clients, including the pension funds for the World Bank and Eastman Kodak.[6] In 1981, the firm opened an office in Westport, Connecticut, which was where Ray and his wife wanted to start a family.[12] Dalio started to become well known outside of Wall Street after turning a profit from the 1987 stock market crash. In 1991, he launched Bridgewater's flagship strategy, "Pure Alpha", a reference to the Greek letter that, in Wall Street terminology, represents the excess returns a money manager can create above a particular market benchmark, such as the NASDAQ.[19] In 1996, Dalio launched All Weather, a fund that pioneered a steady, low-risk strategy that later became known as risk parity.[6]

Rise to prominence

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Bridgewater Assoc. Pure Alpha I stock market strategy returns vs the S&P 500.

Bridgewater Associates became the world's largest hedge fund in 2005.[17] In 2007, Bridgewater predicted the 2008 financial crisis,[9] and in 2008, Dalio published "How the Economic Machine Works: A Template for Understanding What is Happening Now", an essay assessing the potential of various economies by various criteria.

In 2011, Dalio self-published a 123-page volume, Principles, that outlines his philosophy of investment and corporate management.[20][21] In 2012, he appeared on the annual Time 100 list of the 100 most influential people in the world.[22] In 2011 and 2012, Bloomberg Markets listed him as one of the 50 Most Influential people.

The Teacher Retirement System of Texas (TRS) purchased a stake in Bridgewater Associates Intermediate Holdings, LP, for $250 million in February 2012. This stake was non-voting and thus provided the pension fund with very little control of corporate governance.[23] Institutional Investor's Alpha ranked Dalio No. 2 on its 2012 Rich List.[24][25] Dalio has controlled Bridgewater Associates alongside co-chief investment officers Bob Prince and Greg Jensen since its inception.

Dalio was co-CEO of Bridgewater for 10 months before announcing in March 2017 that he would step down as part of a company-wide shakeup by April 15.[26]

Investment philosophy

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According to Dalio, Bridgewater Associates is a "global macro firm",[27] investing around economic trends, such as changes in exchange rates, inflation, and G.D.P. growth.[9] Dalio's strategy mainly focuses on currency and fixed income markets.[28] Dalio also popularized the risk parity approach,[29] which he uses for risk management and diversification within Bridgewater Associates. Dalio began using the term "d-process" in February 2009 to describe the deleveraging and deflationary process of the subprime mortgage industry as distinct from a recession, and subsequently incorporated the term into his investment philosophy.[30]

Controversy

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A November 2023 New York Times investigative report raised questions about claims that Dalio and the fund had made about its investment philosophy and methodology.[31]

Views

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Capitalism and inequality

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While Dalio has stated that capitalism is generally the best economic system, he has argued that it needs to be reformed.[32][33] In July 2019, he again called for the refinement of capitalism and called wealth inequality a national emergency.[34] In May 2020, he stressed the importance of reforming capitalism, not abandoning it.[35]

China

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In October 2020, Dalio cautioned people to not be blind to China's rise,[36] arguing that it had continued to emerge as a global superpower.

Principles

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To follow the 2017 New York Times bestseller Principles: Life & Work, Dalio published an illustrated version in 2019 called Principles for Success.[37] In 2018, Dalio published Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises. In 2021, he published Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order[38] and produced a free online personality assessment called PrinciplesYou.[37]

Personal life

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Ray Dalio at the International Achievement Summit's 2012 Banquet of the Golden Plate reception in Washington, D.C., with his wife, Barbara, and two Academy of Achievement student delegates, Philip Thigo of Kenya and Julia Fan Li of Canada

Family

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Dalio lives with his wife Barbara, a descendant of sculptor Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney,[9] in Greenwich, Connecticut.[13] They have four sons.[10] Their oldest son, Devon, died in an automobile accident in 2020 at age 42.[39] Their second son, Paul Dalio (born 1979), is a film director.[40]

Health

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Dalio has suffered from Barrett's esophagus, a form of gastroesophageal reflux disease (GERD), a pre-malignant condition that if not treated properly can lead to cancer.[41]

Wealth

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In 2014, he reportedly earned $1.1 billion, including a share of his firm's management and performance fees, cash compensation and stock and option awards.[42] In 2015, Forbes estimated his net worth at $15.4 billion, making him the second-wealthiest hedge fund manager after George Soros.[43] In 2018, Dalio was estimated to have personally received $2 billion in compensation for the year, after his fund posted a 14.6% return.[44] In March 2019, Forbes named Dalio one of the highest-earning hedge fund managers and traders.[45]

According to Forbes, Dalio has an estimated net worth of $20 billion as of January 21, 2022, ranking him 88th on their billionaires list[3] and 36th on the Forbes 400 list.[3] In January 2022, Bloomberg News reported Dalio's net worth as $15.7 billion, making him the world's 123rd-richest person, according to their rankings.[46]

Philanthropy

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Dalio giving a speech on philanthropy

Overall, the Dalio family has donated more than $5 billion to his Dalio Foundation,[47] and the foundation has given out more than $1 billion in charitable grants.[48] In April 2011, Dalio and his wife joined the Giving Pledge, vowing to donate more than half his fortune to charitable causes within his lifetime.[49]

Dalio has sat on NewYork–Presbyterian Hospital's board of trustees since 2020.[50] In February 2020, the Dalio Foundation donated $10 million to support China's coronavirus recovery efforts in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. In March 2020, the foundation gave $4 million to the state of Connecticut to fund healthcare and nutrition.[51] On October 13, 2020, NYP launched the Dalio Center for Health Justice[52][53] with a gift of $50 million.[54]

The foundation has supported the Fund for Teachers,[55] David Lynch Foundation,[56] National Philanthropic Trust,[57] and TED's Audacious Project.[58] Dalio's research yacht and submarine have appeared on the Discovery Channel during Shark Week and have been used to hunt for a giant squid.[43] In 2018, OceanX, an initiative of the Dalio family, and Bloomberg Philanthropies[59] committed $185 million over four years to protect the oceans.[60] In 2019, he pledged $100 million to Connecticut public schools.[61]

Dalio has backed the Volcker Alliance, the public policy group headed by former Federal Reserve chair Paul Volcker.[43]

Hobbies

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Dalio practices Transcendental Meditation.[62] He is an avid outdoorsman, and has hunted cape buffalo, grouse, elk, and warthog.[51] Dalio is also fond of bowhunting.[63][51]

Published works

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  • How the Economic Machine Works; A Template for Understanding What is Happening Now is Dalio's first book, published in 2007.[64]
  • Principles: Life & Work is Dalio's second book, published in 2017 by Simon & Schuster.[65] It was a New York Times #1 bestseller and Amazon's #1 business book of 2017.[66] CNBC listed Principles among the 13 Best Business Books of 2017.[67]
  • Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises is Dalio's third book, published in 2018.[68]
  • The Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail was published in 2021.[69]
  • How Countries Go Broke, Principles for Navigating the Big Debt Cycle, Where We Are Headed, and What We Should Do, to be released in 2025 [70]

References

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  1. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaire Index". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on 17 April 2018. Retrieved 18 April 2018.
  2. ^ "The Rise of Dalio Philanthropy: A Case Study of the New Mega-Giving". Inside Philanthropy. Archived from the original on April 23, 2017. Retrieved April 22, 2017.
  3. ^ a b c "Ray Dalio". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2012-06-06. Retrieved 2019-01-30.
  4. ^ "Ray Dalio, Founder of World's Largest Hedge Fund: Weak Economy Makes Second Adolf Hitler More Likely". Algemeiner. Archived from the original on April 17, 2019. Retrieved March 19, 2013.
  5. ^ "Ray Dalio". Archived from the original on 2019-07-16.
  6. ^ a b c Stevenson, Alexandra; Goldstein, Matthew (2017-09-08). "Bridgewater's Ray Dalio Spreads His Gospel of 'Radical Transparency'". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-03-30. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  7. ^ Sorkin, Andrew Ross (2017-09-04). "Bridgewater's Ray Dalio Dives Deeper Into the 'Principles' of Tough Love". The New York Times. Archived from the original on 2020-01-17. Retrieved 2020-04-06.
  8. ^ "The Richest People In The World".
  9. ^ a b c d e f Cassidy, John (July 25, 2011). "Mastering the Machine: How Ray Dalio built the world's richest and strangest hedge fund". The New Yorker. pp. 56–65. Archived from the original on April 2, 2014.
  10. ^ a b "The Palm Beach Post from West Palm Beach, Florida on September 4, 2002 · Page 38". Newspapers.com. September 4, 2002. Archived from the original on October 12, 2017. Retrieved June 8, 2017.
  11. ^ Cometto, Maria Teresa. "Ray Dalio, il libretto rosso dello speculatore che attacca l'Italia". Corriere della Sera (in Italian). Archived from the original on 2018-04-13. Retrieved 2018-04-12.
  12. ^ a b c d e "Ray Dalio". Academy of Achievement. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  13. ^ a b c d Roose, Kevin (2011-04-10). "Pursuing Self-Interest in Harmony With the Laws of the Universe and Contributing to Evolution is Universally Rewarded". New York. Archived from the original on 2017-12-05.
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  15. ^ "Radical Transparency" Archived 2017-10-24 at the Wayback Machine 2010, Leaders Magazine. Volume 33, Number 3
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  17. ^ a b "The head of the world's largest hedge fund explains how he learned to invest". Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 11, 2017. Retrieved April 12, 2017.
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  20. ^ Ovide, Shira (October 22, 2010). "More on Bridgewater's Ray Dalio, Wall Street's Oddest Duck". The Wall Street Journal. Archived from the original on July 15, 2018. Retrieved December 4, 2013.
  21. ^ Rosenthal, Norman E. (2013). The Gift of Adversity. Penguin Group. pp. Chapter 41. ISBN 978-0-399-16371-5. Retrieved December 4, 2013. Dalio Principles.
  22. ^ Volcker, Paul (April 18, 2012). "The 100 Most Influential People in the World". Time. Archived from the original on August 17, 2013. Retrieved August 15, 2012.
  23. ^ "Texas Teacher Retirement fund takes Bridgewater stake-report". Reuters. 2012-02-20. Retrieved 2023-09-09.
  24. ^ Taub, Steven (April 15, 2013). "The Rich List". Institutional Investor's Alpha. Archived from the original on March 26, 2018. Retrieved April 16, 2013.
  25. ^ Creswell, Julie (15 April 2013). "Hedge Fund Titans' Pay Stretching to 10 Figures". The New York Times. No. DealBook. p. B1. Archived from the original on 16 December 2017. Retrieved 2 May 2019.
  26. ^ Cox, Jeff (2017-03-01). "Bridgewater's Ray Dalio to step down at Co-CEO on April 15". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2017-06-14. Retrieved 2017-06-23.
  27. ^ Roose, Kevin (21 October 2011). "Bridgewater's Dalio: 'I Think I Did Everything Right'". The New York Times. No. DealBook. Retrieved 28 October 2011.
  28. ^ O'Keefe, Brian (March 19, 2009). "Inside the World's Biggest Hedge Fund". Fortune. Retrieved March 22, 2010.
  29. ^ "Risk Parity Trade Made Famous by Ray Dalio Is Now Ringing Alarms". Bloomberg.com. 2020-03-12. Archived from the original on 2021-04-11. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  30. ^ Ward, Sandra (February 9, 2009) "Recession? No, It's a D-process, and It Will Be Long", Barron's. Retrieved March 18, 2010
  31. ^ Copeland, Rob (2023-11-01). "How Does the World's Largest Hedge Fund Really Make Its Money?". The New York Times.
  32. ^ Mark Niquette (April 7, 2019). "Dalio Says Capitalism's Income Inequality Is National Emergency". Bloomberg.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  33. ^ Bill Whitaker (April 7, 2019). "Ray Dalio says wealth inequality is a national emergency; The founder of the most successful hedge fund in the world says capitalism needs to be reformed and that the American dream is lost". cbsnews.com. Archived from the original on April 8, 2019. Retrieved April 9, 2019.
  34. ^ "Ray Dalio says wealth inequality is a national emergency". www.cbsnews.com. 28 July 2019. Archived from the original on 2019-08-02. Retrieved 2019-08-07.
  35. ^ Ray Dalio (15 May 2020). "Ray Dalio: We must reform capitalism, not abandon it". CNN Business. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  36. ^ "Don't be blind to China's rise in a changing world". www.linkedin.com. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  37. ^ a b Gagne, Yasmin (2021-05-10). "Ray Dalio, quiz king of Bridgewater, wants to help you find yourself". Fast Company. Retrieved 2024-05-09.
  38. ^ Varadarajan, Tunku. "'Principles for Dealing With the Changing World Order' Review: Trouble Ahead, As Usual". WSJ. Retrieved 2024-05-27.
  39. ^ Billionaire Ray Dalio's Son Devon Dies in Fiery Car Crash at 42: 'Terrible Pain'
  40. ^ Finance (March 19, 2012). "Ray Dalio's Son Is An Entertainment Producer, And He's Directing A Movie About Maniac Depressives With Spike Lee's Support". Business Insider. Archived from the original on April 9, 2017. Retrieved June 2, 2017.
  41. ^ "Ray Dalio Says He's Not Sick, Just Triangulating". Bloomberg. September 14, 2019. Archived from the original on September 6, 2020. Retrieved April 17, 2020.
  42. ^ H. Kent Baker; Greg Filbeck (26 July 2017). Hedge Funds: Structure, Strategies, and Performance. Oxford University Press. pp. 52–. ISBN 978-0-19-060739-5. Archived from the original on 7 March 2019. Retrieved 22 September 2018.
  43. ^ a b c Vardi, Nathan. "Hedge Fund Billionaire Ray Dalio Steps Up Foundation Giving". Forbes. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  44. ^ "Here's What Ray Dalio Made in Bridgewater's Impressive 2018". Institutional Investor. 15 January 2019. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  45. ^ Vardi, Nathan. "The Highest-Earning Hedge Fund Managers And Traders". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2019-03-30. Retrieved 2019-03-30.
  46. ^ "Bloomberg Billionaires Index". Bloomberg.com. Retrieved 2022-01-21.
  47. ^ Locke, Taylor (2020-12-03). "What Ray Dalio gives for the holidays (Hint: It sometimes involves a blank check)". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  48. ^ Block, Fang. "Bridgewater's Ray Dalio Commits $50 Million to Address Health Justice". www.barrons.com. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  49. ^ "Bridgewater's Dalio Joins Giving Pledge". The New York Times. April 28, 2011. Archived from the original on September 11, 2015. Retrieved April 29, 2015.
  50. ^ "NYP.org About Us Governance and Leadership Board of Trustees".
  51. ^ a b c "Raymond Thomas Dalio". Wealth-X. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  52. ^ "Dalio Center for Health Justice". NewYork-Presbyterian. Retrieved 2022-01-04.
  53. ^ "Ray Dalio Donates $50 Million to Fight Health-Care Injustice". Bloomberg.com. 13 October 2020.
  54. ^ Stevens, Pippa (2020-10-14). "Bridgewater's Ray Dalio pledges $50 million for new health justice initiative". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-04-03.
  55. ^ "9 Stamford Educators Receive Grants For U.S. & Foreign Studies". Stamford, Connecticut Patch. 2018-04-09. Archived from the original on 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  56. ^ "Hedge Fund Billionaire Ray Dalio Gives Big for David Lynch". www.institutionalinvestor.com. 23 May 2016. Archived from the original on 2017-08-23. Retrieved 2017-08-23.
  57. ^ Vardi, Nathan. "Hedge Fund Billionaire Ray Dalio Steps Up Foundation Giving". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2018-04-09. Retrieved 2018-04-09.
  58. ^ Nicosia, Mareesa. "TED Launches The Audacious Project, Awarding $250M to New Crop of Social Entrepreneurs". Archived from the original on 2018-04-11. Retrieved 2018-04-10.
  59. ^ "Michael R. Bloomberg and Ray Dalio's OceanX Announce Over $185 Million for New Partnership to Increase Ocean Exploration and Protection". Bloomberg Philanthropies. Archived from the original on 2019-07-01. Retrieved 2019-05-22.
  60. ^ Chaykowski, Kathleen. "Ray Dalio and Michael Bloomberg Commit $185 Million To Protect The Oceans". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2019-04-02. Retrieved 2019-04-02.
  61. ^ Yakowicz, Will. "The Biggest Philanthropic Gifts Of 2019". Forbes. Archived from the original on 2020-05-28. Retrieved 2020-10-15.
  62. ^ Clifford, Catherine (2018-03-16). "Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio: Meditation is 'the single most important reason' for my success". CNBC. Retrieved 2021-04-04.
  63. ^ Levin, Bess (14 January 2019). "Don't Try And Tell Ray Dalio There's Anything Risky About Hunting An Animal Known To Impale People With Its Giant Horns". Dealbreaker. Retrieved 2021-04-10.
  64. ^ "Bridgewater: How the Economic Machine Works A Template for Understanding What is Happening Now". Tamma Capital. 2012-08-08. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  65. ^ "Book Review: Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises". CFA Institute Enterprising Investor. 2019-08-09. Retrieved 2021-04-02.
  66. ^ Calvello, Angelo (2018-05-10). "Ray Dalio's Book Has Sold a Million Copies. But Who's Actually Implementing His Ideas?". Institutional Investor. Archived from the original on 2018-12-31. Retrieved 2018-12-31.
  67. ^ Clifford, Catherine (2017-12-27). "13 of the best business books of 2017". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2017-12-27. Retrieved 2017-12-28.
  68. ^ Montag, Ali (2018-09-14). "Billionaire Ray Dalio remembers the moment he saw the financial crisis coming: 'This is the big one'". CNBC. Archived from the original on 2018-09-17. Retrieved 2018-09-17.
  69. ^ Dalio, Ray (2021-08-17). The Changing World Order: Why Nations Succeed and Fail. Simon and Schuster. ISBN 978-1-9821-6479-9.
  70. ^ "Billionaire Ray Dalio offers fresh tips on how to be a better investor". finance.yahoo.com. Archived from the original on 2025-01-27. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
[edit]
  • Quotations related to Ray Dalio at Wikiquote
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