Raymond Dalio - the life-changing side hustle
Raymond Dalio is one of the richest people in the world, ranking 60th on the Forbes list.
Raymond Dalio earned his place in the sun thanks to his largest hedge fund, Bridgewater Associates, which, in terms of profitability, having earned $500 million in 2015, overtook the fund of George Soros himself.
Currently, according to declarations, Raymond Dalio's fortune is estimated at $15.6 billion, and Bridgewater Associates' investment portfolio is $154 billion.
In the stock exchange world they call him Ray and believe me, the story of his success will surprise even the most snarky critics.
Raymond Dalio was born in 1949 in one of the historic neighborhoods of Jackson Heights in New York City. His family was far from poor, but at the same time they did not have any special income. Ray's mother was an ordinary housewife who looked after the house and children, and his father was a popular jazz musician by local standards.
An interesting thing about his biography is that, as a very young boy, he delivered newspapers, mowed the lawn, removed snow and in every way tried to earn money from his closest neighbors.
Introduction to the world of stocks. First investment
When Ray was just twelve years old, he got a job as a sports equipment porter and consultant at the elite Links golf club. In the 1960s, the US economy was growing at an unusual rate, and as part of his work, Raymond began to meet frequently with various stock market players and wealthy people, to whom he carried balls and clubs.
Willy-nilly, Ray very often heard about growing stocks and incredible promising earnings, as well as about the plans of certain rich people. So, at one point, Ray, carried away by another conversation, decided to try to make his first investment by buying shares of Northeast Airlines for three hundred dollars.
Believe it or not, by a stroke of luck, Ray increased his investment from $300 to $900. Such success fascinated the young boy very much, and for the first time he began to study company reports, make his first transactions, and most importantly, while working as a porter at a golf club, he constantly talked with stock exchange players and took over their advice.
The result of his hobby was a portfolio of stocks worth several thousand dollars by the end of school, which was quite a substantial sum for a student at that time.
Education. Meditation and the path to success
After graduating from school, Raymond entered CW Post College and continued to engage in active speculative trading. You won’t believe it, but at this time he begins to actively study meditation, and believes that the key to success lay precisely in it, since it allows you to clear your brain of unnecessary thoughts.
After graduating from college, he enters Harvard and continues his studies. One fine summer, he begins to trade in the commodity market and does it quite successfully. To conduct trade in the future, together with his fellow students, the company Bridgewater Associates was created.
However, the company did not shine with results, so Ray quickly closed it.
First job - first success
With experience in commodities trading and a Harvard MBA in finance, Ray is a sought-after professional. This is how his career began with the firm Dominick & Dominick, LLC, where he worked for only a year.
After a successful start to his career, Raymond Dalio gets a job as a trader at Shearson Hayden Stone. Being a fairly successful asset manager, Ray managed to quarrel with his boss at a New Year's party, and it came to a fight.
Therefore, he decides to leave the company and resume the activities of the old forgotten company Bridgewater Associates in his apartment. Believe it or not, the investors Dalio worked for left with him.
Life really began to improve and Bridgewater began to be popular with large clients, for example, one of the largest companies for which he traded - McDonald's. After acquiring clients, Bridgewater opens a number of hedge funds and trading divisions.
The average annual return on each of the hedge funds ranged from 10 to 18 percent, which rapidly increased the size of Dalio's wealth.
In 2011, Raymond Dalio stepped down, leaving his post as head and taking on the status of a mentor. Today, his brainchild, Bridgewater Associates, continues to operate and ranks among the world's largest hedge funds in terms of profitability.