Trader Ken Griffin
Ken Griffin has become a world-famous figure thanks to his hedge fund, Citadel, which has a capitalization of just over $25 billion.
However, it is not the fact that Griffin is a billionaire that attracts people's attention, but the story of his development, and it is difficult to call this story unsurprising.
The well-rounded Ken Griffin makes for a great role model, as his rise to fame is a classic example of how determination can make billions.
The future founder of Citadel was born on October 15, 1968 in the small town of Daytona Beach, which is located within the state of Florida.
However, after his birth, his parents decided to move to a more pleasant resort town called Boca Raton.
Just imagine that a very young Kenuzhe, at school age, read a lot of literature about computers and managed to drive computer equipment sellers crazy in the nearest supermarkets.
No, don't think that the boy was very picky, he just loved computers so much that he was always chasing the latest information, and the sellers were the ones who had it.
When he was just 17, he skillfully fixed bugs in IBM software while working there as a tester. However, the work didn't provide much in terms of pay or satisfaction, so he quit and started his own company selling software to schools and universities.
Although Griffin eventually left the business, the company he founded at the age of 17 is still operating today.
Training. Introduction to the Exchange
After graduating from high school and starting his own business, Ken Griffin enrolled at Harvard. Interestingly, Ken's introduction to the stock market was accidental. One day, he read an article in Bloomberg that suggested a company's stock was overvalued and could soon fall.
On a hunch, the young man believed the magazine and opened a short position, earning his first profit. However, when Griffin decided to cash out, he found that most of his earnings had been eaten up by commissions and various expenses, ultimately resulting in a loss.
This situation really affected Giffin, so instead of giving up on the exchange forever, he began actively studying the material.
Toward the end of his freshman year, Griffin began skipping classes because he was running his own business out of his dorm room. After summer break, Griffin quit his business and borrowed $265,000 from relatives, which became his first capital.
In 1989, Ken's deposit amounted to just over a million dollars, but investors were reluctant to invest. However, one of his acquaintances introduced Griffin to investor Meyer, who trusted the 23-year-old and entrusted him with a million dollars of his own.
Organizing your own hedge fund.
By the end of the year, Griffin had earned more than 70 percent per annum, and in 1990, having received additional funding, he opened the Wellington Financial Group fund with an authorized capital of 4 million.
Meyer's involvement in the fund inspired investor confidence, and three-year returns of around 30 percent annually attracted a huge influx of capital. However, in 1994, due to Griffin's mistake, the fund lost 4.5 percent of its capital, triggering a massive outflow of investors.
After a serious scolding from investors, Ken Griffin promised that this would never happen again and, to back up his promise, renamed his fund Citadel, in order to inspire greater confidence by associating his fund with an impenetrable fortress.
Today, Citadel has 13 offices worldwide, and employs 1,200 people. The fund continues to grow rapidly, with assets totaling just over $25 billion.
The founder's net worth is currently estimated at just over $7 billion.
