As traders, we constantly search for people to look up to and ask ourselves “Who are the Top Traders?”. Learning about famous traders and their experiences can both motivate young and new traders and also teach them valuable life lessons that can save them a great deal of capital and time. In this post, I will introduce to you who the Top 5 Traders of all time are and will give you a short description of their life stories.
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Who are the top traders?
Before diving into this topic, let’s mention that in this post we will focus on the people who are famous for being traders and not the people who are famous for other occupations who also happen to be successful traders! For example, there are many famous former traders who moved on to other careers. John Key who served as the Prime Minister of New Zealand is one example of such traders who we will not cover in this article. Another instance is Jimmy Wales who is the founder of Wikipedia.
With this said, let’s answer the question: Who are the top traders?
Jesse Livermore (1877–1940)
Jesse Livermore was an American trader who was famous for both huge gains and losses in the trading market. Livermore successfully shorted the 1929 market crash, building his fortune all the way up to a hundred million dollars. Nonetheless, by 1934 he had lost most of his money and sadly took his own life in 6 years later.
Some people and fans have regarded Livermore as one of the greatest traders of all time. However, others have regarded his legacy as a cautionary tale about the risks associated with leverage and seeking colossal gains rather than a strategy focused on smaller yet more consistent returns on investment.
Jim Rogers (Born in 1942)
When asking the question “who are the top traders of all time?” there is another name that pops into mind. James Rogers who was born in 1942, is the chair of Rogers Holdings. In the 1970s, Rogers has co-founded the Quantum Fund with the help of his partner George Soros. Over ten years, this company gained a staggering 4200% value. He is also famous for his correct bullish call on commodities in the 1990s.
Jim Rogers was an educated man. even though his education was not directly related to economics, in the year 1964, he graduated with a bachelor’s degree in history from Yale University. He got his first job on Wall Street. In 1966, He acquired another bachelor’s degree in philosophy, politics and economics from the University of Oxford. In the year 2019, Rogers received an honorary PhD from Pusan National University for his books containing positive messages on Korean reunification.
Steven Cohen (Born in 1956)
Steven Cohen founded a leading hedge fund focused on trading equities called “SAC Capital Advisors”. In 1978, Cohen received an economics degree from the University of Pennsylvania. While in school, a friend helped him open a brokerage account with $1,000 of his tuition money and this was probably the beginning of his trading journey.
In the year 1992, Cohen started S.A.C. Capital Advisors with a capital of $10 million of his own money and another $10 million from outside capital. In 2003, the New York Times wrote that this company is one of the largest funds and is famous for frequent and rapid trading. In addition, In the year 2006, The Wall Street Journal reported that while Cohen was once a rapid-fire trader who never held trading positions for extended periods of time, he now holds an increasing number of equities for longer periods of time
According to Investopedia, In the year 2013, SAC Captial Advisors was charged by the Securities and Exchange Commission with failing to prevent insider trading and later paid a $1.2 billion fine.
Paul Tudor Jones (Born 1954)
Paul Tudor Jones is the founder of one of the world’s leading hedge funds named ‘Tudor Investment Corporation,’. He gained notoriety after making around a hundred million dollars from shorting stocks at the time of the market crash of 1987.
Jones’s global macro trading style is mainly based on technical analysis, and not value investing. This style puts an emphasis on momentum factors driving markets. However, In 2000, during an interview, he suggested that he regretted not being more involved with venture investing in technology firms during the 1990s. He also stated in 2020 that he owns Bitcoin as a hedge against inflation.
Warren Buffet (Born in 1930)
Last but not least, Warren Buffett with a net worth of 116.9 Billion Dollars sits in the top 10 charts of the richest people in the world.
He showed keen business abilities at a very young age. Buffett formed his partnership called ‘Buffett Partnership Ltd.’ in 1956, and by the year 1965, he had assumed control of Berkshire Hathaway. Overseeing the growth of a conglomerate with holdings in the media, insurance, energy and food and beverage industries, He became one of the world’s richest men and a celebrated philanthropist.
According to Forbes, “He has promised to donate over 99% of his wealth. So far he has given more than $45 billion, mostly to the Gates Foundation and his kids’ foundations“.
To finish this article, here are some of the most famous quotes from Warren Buffett:
“Someone’s sitting in the shade today because someone planted a tree a long time ago.”
Warren Buffet
“If you aren’t willing to own a stock for 10 years, don’t even think about owning it for 10 minutes.”
Warren Buffet
Don’t ask ‘who are the top traders?’ but ‘what should I learn from their stories?’
The mentioned names and part of their stories while interesting, have some life lessons hidden in them. The dramatic life stories of some of the world’s renowned traders have made material for books and also movies. We encourage you to watch some of these movies and books.
Who is your favorite trader? Which of these four top traders do you look up to?
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