Trader Gary Bielfeldt

Gary Bielfeldt went down in history as one of the most successful government bond traders and also the largest philanthropist in the small town of Peoria.
It is worth noting that it was not the fact of success itself that made him famous, but rather the way he did it.

The future guru of government bond trading was born in the small town of Peoria, Illinois.

Almost nothing is known about the trader's childhood and early life. His father nurtured a love of the stock market in young Gary, teaching him how to manage risks effectively when playing poker.

In one interview, Bielfeldt said that even as a child he beat all his peers and even adults at poker, which allowed him to earn good money. His father taught him a simple approach to risk management, namely, if the hand is bad and more than half the deck is gone, he should immediately fold and lose the bet, rather than double it and rely on luck.

However, if the hand is great and you have an advantage at the very beginning, then you should squeeze the maximum out of the situation and, if possible, double up and take out the players.

The lesson Bielfeldt learned in childhood carried over to real trading on the stock market, when in unprofitable situations he immediately cut off risks, and in winning situations he could even apply leverage, to squeeze the maximum profit out of the situation.

Gary Bielfeldt's early stock market career

Gary Bielfeldt began his trading career with just one thousand dollars. Because his capital was so small, he traded just one corn contract. Later, as his capital grew, he expanded to soybean and bean futures.

Gary's capital was so insignificant that even with incredible success, it wouldn't have allowed him to live on his earnings. Therefore, in parallel with his independent trading, he was actively involved in managing a small local business brokerage company.

Bielfeldt had to forget about any diversification and focus on trading only one asset.

In 1965, Gary Bielfeldt, through incredible efforts, managed to earn about 10 thousand dollars by trading soybeans and corn, but this amount was clearly not enough for a further leap up the career ladder.

So, having collected fundamental data on the legume market, specifically soybeans, and having enlisted the help of his former agricultural economics professor, Gary decides to take a gamble.


Bielfeldt, relying on the professor's assumption that soybean prices should rise, buys 20 contracts for almost his entire deposit, and enters the market with leverage to minimize profits.

According to Gary's recollections, if the price had corrected by 10 percent, he could have lost his entire deposit, but luck smiled on him and in just one transaction, the deposit was more than doubled.

The soybean gamble took Gary Bielfeldt to the next level, which undoubtedly led to a huge increase in his deposit and market dominance.

Success and development.

By the early 1980s, trading volumes were so high that Gary was running into government-imposed limits on the maximum number of contracts. To continue growth and development, Gary Bielfeldt moved to the Treasury bond futures market, where there were no such restrictions.

In 1984, he amassed a huge fortune by buying up government bonds at the very bottom, and the network of orders he had created began to operate on the principle of leverage, meaning it allowed him to continually increase his positions.

Gary Bielfeldt was deeply grateful to his city and loved it with all his heart. Therefore, he created a special fund and contributed approximately $30 million to it. This fund made it possible to realize many of the residents' dream projects, including the construction of a zoo and the renovation of kindergartens and infrastructure.

The Gary Bielfeldt Foundation was a non-profit organization, and anyone in the city could join him in his charity work.