Last Updated on June 20, 2024
At the age of 73, Raymond (Ray) Dalio is currently one of the wealthiest people in the world. As the manager of a hedge fund and a billionaire with an investment background, Ray started investing before he even became a teenager.
Most famous for his role in creating the Bridgewater Associates, he was ranked by Forbes as the 75th richest person on the planet. His biography is filled with economic successes, all of which were earned through hard work.
Early Life of Ray Dalio
Born in New York City on August 8, 1949, Ray Dalio is the son of Ann and Marino Dallolio. His mother was a homemaker, and his father was a jazz musician, which means his investment interest was not family-earned.
Nothing much is known about his childhood years. However, at the age of 12, Dalio made his first move: a $300 investment in Northeast Airlines. The shares did not see any changes at the beginning. Still, once the airline underwent a merger with another company, his investment grew thrice its initial size.
This sparked Dalio’s interest in the world of investment. He saw that the right choice made at the right time can become fruitful, and he decided to gain even more knowledge.
He applied to Long Island University (the CW Post), where he received his bachelor’s degree in finance. Later on, he joined Harvard Business School, where he got his MBA.
Life After University
Dalio’s career started right after he graduated from university. Thanks to his investments, he already had a decent passive income to go by. His knowledge of investment techniques prompted him to take his career to a completely different level.
At first, he joined the New York Stock Exchange, where he began trading commodity futures. After gaining some experience, he moved on to Dominick & Dominick LLC, where he took on the role of Director of Commodities.
It was only when he joined Shearson Hayden Stone that he established himself as a broker and a trader. He learned what was needed to make the right decisions, using his experience and futures knowledge to determine when something’s worth it.
“Every time you confront something painful, you are at a potentially important juncture in your life – you have the opportunity to choose healthy and painful truth or unhealthy but comfortable delusion,” Dalio said. He did not believe in holding back on investments, but he was an advocate of powering through with confidence.
In 1975, he founded Bridgewater Associates, the investment management company that eventually made him so popular. At first, he ran his business from his apartment in New York.
It took six years for the association to grow enough profit. In 1981, he opened the first office of his business in Westport, Connecticut. From that point, it started being even more successful. In 2005, Bridgewater Associates became known as the largest hedge fund in the world.
Life as Published Author
His business and trading skills painted him as a man of success throughout his early career. His popularity started increasing even more once he began publishing.
In 2007, Bridgewater suggested there may be a financial crisis on a global level. One year later, in 2008, he published How the Economic Machine Works: A Template for Understanding What Is Happening Now. The essay addressed the potential of different economies, organizing them by criteria.
In 2011, he published his first book, Principles. The 123-page book outlined his ideas on investment and how to handle corporate management, acting as a guide for success. He included daily observations and analyses that he noticed throughout his whole life. Using his hedge fund, he offered practical tactics on how to be successful with your investments.
The book was meant to benefit the readers, but it was also a self-learning tactic. In a speech given in 2011 at the Bloomberg Markets 50 Summit, he said that “The main reason I write the daily observations is because I want to know where I’m wrong. So lots of times if somebody points something out it helps me, and I want to have a diversified bet of uncorrelated bets.”
In 2012, Dalio appeared in the Time 100 List of the 100 Most Influential People in the World. Bloomberg Markets also deemed him as one of the 50 Most Influential People in the financial market. This increased his popularity even further.
Ray Dalio’s Life on Screen
Dalio shared his knowledge not only in the form of books but also on the digital screen. In 2013, he narrated a video that aired on YouTube and was called How the Economic Machine Works. The 30-minute video aimed to explain the concept of economy in simple terms, so that even a beginner may understand. The video included a variety of common ideas, such as interest rates, deficit, credit, and more, breaking down the economic cycle.
The material was translated into several languages and aired in different countries, including China, Japan, and Russia. It gained more than 33 million views, making it one of the most popular videos on economics on the platform.
Life with His Wife
In 1977, Ray Dalio married his wife, Barbara Dalio, with whom he settled in Greenwich. Together, they had four sons, which are carrying his legacy to this day. His second son started the China Care Foundation, a charity that means to assist orphans from the region. Dalio often aids his son in the organization, as he is a known philanthropist.
In 2011, both Dalio and his wife decided to donate half of their income to charity. The action was meant to mirror Warren Buffet and Bill Gates, increasing his popularity even more.
Ray Dalio’s Net Worth
Ray Dalio is an investor with a net worth of nearly $20 billion ($19.1, to be more precise). This makes him a multi-billionaire with one of the world’s biggest hedge funds. Most of his revenue comes from Bridgewater Associates, but also from different investments he made across the span of his life.
Final Thoughts
Ray Dalio was seen as an economic genius by those interested in the field. He played to win, and he used his knowledge to make smart investments. He was a good investor way before he became popular, and his wealth was hard-built and carefully earned.
