George Soros And Ray Dalio Manage The Largest Hedge Funds – And Are Two Of The Richest Men In The World
The hedge fund managers Ray Dalio and George Soros manage the two largest hedge funds in the world. As founder of Bridgewater Associates, Ray Dalio is No. 67 of the wealthiest people in the world with an estimated net worth of US$ 17 billion (Forbes 2018). In total, Bridgewater registered a gain of almost US$ 50 billion which is the highest gain among all hedge funds. With about US$ 160 billion in assets under management (AUM, according to its website as of October 2017) Bridgewater is the largest hedge fund in the world. No. 2 of the largest hedge funds is Soros with a total gain of almost US$ 44 billion. Its hedge fund manager, George Soros, is at #190 of the Forbes list in 2018. His net worth is estimated US$ 8 billion after having donated about US$ 18 billion to his philanthropic agency, Open Society Foundations (February 2018).
What Is A Hedge Fund?
Hedge funds are investment funds that pursue various investment strategies and manage diverse types of assets. In general, they aim to generate high positive returns regardless of whether markets are rising or falling. In other words: they strive for absolute returns. Therefore, these funds invest more actively than others and tend to use more aggressive investment strategies and positions in order to improve their risk-reward-balance. But not everyone is able to invest in hedge funds. Only sophisticated or accredited investors have access to these investment funds. As these funds are not publicly accessible they can avoid regulatory oversight to a certain extent and, therefore, can operate more flexibly.
The Life Of Ray Dalio
In 1975, Ray Dalio founded the investment firm Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund since 2005. Bloomberg Markets ranked the hedge fund manager among the 50 most influential people in the world in 2011 and 2012. The German magazine “Stern” just published the article “This guy bets billions that Germany is going to crash” (March 2018) referring to Dalio’s controversial short bets against major German companies. In addition, the German “Manager Magazin” simultaneously wrote “The man who evokes the German DAX-crash“. Among others, publications talk about “The ruthless Mr. Dalio” (German newspaper “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung”, in April 2016) and “Dalio versus everyone else” (Bloomberg, in February 2018).
Nevertheless, Ray Dalio engages philanthropically. With his Dalio Foundation he supports different projects, such as Polio Eradication Projects, the New York Presbyterian Hospital and the Fund for Teachers. Besides, his foundation is part of the TED’s Audacious Project engaging in social entrepreneurs working to find solutions for global issues.
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