Billionaire Traders

Mentioned here are some professional traders, who are still rocking.

John D. Arnold (age 35) made his first billion $ within 5 years. Made 1.5$ billion in 2008.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_D._Arnold
NYMag Interview


Paul Tudor Jones, started as a clerk on a trading floor.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paul_Tudor_Jones
MarketFolly Interview
"Today, I want to talk to you about the dirtiest word that any of you 9th graders know. It’s a word that is so terrible that your parents won’t talk about it; your teachers won’t talk about it; and you certainly don’t ever want to dwell on it. But this is a preparatory school, and you need to be prepared to deal with this phenomenon because you will experience it. That is a guarantee. Every single one of you will experience it not once but multiple times, and every adult in this room has had to deal with this in its many forms and manifestations. It’s the “F” word...."
Full Article


Louis Bacon is by far the biggest of the daredevil managers who are still placing big directional bets on stocks, bonds, currencies and commodities at a time when such bold trading has come under withering scrutiny.
http://www.turtletrader.com/bacon.html
http://marquezcomelab.com/blog/?p=497
http://www.iimagazinerankings.com/...


Carl Icahn
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Carl_Icahn
http://money.cnn.com/magazines/...
"To 'meet with triumph and disaster' and to 'treat those two impostors just the same.'
So if you're doing great, don't think you're a genius and
If you're doing badly, don't think the world comes to an end.
If you work hard and don't let your ego get ahead of you,
(which so many people do when you're doing well),
And if you don't let yourself become
too despondent if you're not doing well for awhile.
And have faith in your ability,
And really work hard at whatever you do.
If you can do all that, I think, chances are good
You're going to hit a lucky streak.
Luck comes and goes. Realize that
When you're doing really well, it's not just you
And when you're not, it's not just you either." Full Story

 
Steven Cohen, the Trading God.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steven_A._Cohen
BW Article


David Tepper is another former Goldman Sachs employee who turned into a hedge fund manager. His hedge-fund firm has racked up about $7 billion of profit so far this year—with Mr. Tepper on track to earn more than $2.5 billion for himself.
Recent 7$ billiob bet
David Tepper - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
http://www.gurufocus.com/forum/read.php?1,77148


John Paulson began his career at Boston Consulting Group before leaving to join Odyssey Partners, working under Leon Levy. Shot into limelight in 2007 after making around $15 billion speculating on US Housing Crisis. Cited by some as the biggest trade ever made, outshining Livermore's 1929 one.
John Paulson - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Best Trade of 2007 – John Paulson Overtakes Oprah Winfrey
John Paulson: Hedge Fund Manager MVP 2007-08, Congress Testimony Video
Paulson May Have Made $45.3 Million on Detour Gold (Update1)


Back in 1965, a penniless refugee named Thomas Peterffy, was destined to revolutionize the global trading industry.
http://www.iinews.com/site/pdfs/IIMa...s_Nov_2005.pdf
http://people.forbes.com/profile/thomas-peterffy/44384
http://individuals.interactivebroker...?ib_entity=llc


Ace Greenberg, started as a clerk in the oil department at GS. Since 2001 he is head of the executive committee of the same and the company's capital base grew from $500 million to $26 billion.
http://www.forbes.com/2008/10/10/Onl...Greenberg.html
http://www.tradersmagazine.com/issue...inter_friendly


James Simons, a mathematician from MIT manages more than 25$ billion, with great success.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/James_Harris_Simons
Interview mentioned on abacus and seedmagazine


T. Boone Pickens, "“My IQ is the gas price. At $3 I’m a genius. At $1.50 I’m a moron. Don’t talk to me too fast; it’s at $1.53 today.”
Wikipedia Page, Frontline Interview, Fox news Interview


Bruce Kovner's first trade was for $3000 borrowed against his MasterCard.
Wikipedia Page 
CNN Money Interview


Edward S. "Eddie" Lampert's current networth is estimated at 1.5$ billion.
Wikipedia Page
http://www.streetstories.com/Bruce_Kovner.htm


David E. Shaw is a computer scientist and computational biochemist who founded D.E. Shaw & Co. The capital under management in his firm has shrunk from 40$ billion to 29$ billion in recent meltdown.
Wikipedia Page
MarketFolly Interview


Louis Bacon is another self-made billionaire, considered by some among top traders of 20th century.
Wikipedia Page AR Interview
Forbes Entry

Advice For Struggling Traders

1. Do not keep opinions. No opinions about strategies, people or your ability to make it in trading. If you see people losing money horribly in market, ignore them. If you see highly successful traders, try to interact with them. But keep away from opinions... they lead into generalizations which can be very dangerous.
2. Listen more and talk less- particularly applicable to people visiting forums and chatrooms. Okay, you like talking for hours to your girlfriend or school buds but this is goddamned business. You need to be precise and sharp. You still haven't made it big and if you start talking, you do the oppsite of being precise and sharp. It's not just about social interaction, effects your psyche as well.
3. Do not make generalizations. Nothing can be as bad in trading as generalizations. Example: fundamental analysis does not work, technical analysis works better on daily charts, quant traders make most consistent money, trading is an art, big traders do not share anything about business to budding traders...

Precarious Prediction

"Everything that can be invented has been invented."
Charles H. Duell, Director of U.S. Patent Office, 1899

"Who the hell wants to hear actors talk?“
Harry Warner, Warner Bros. Pictures, c. 1927

"Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote."
Grover Cleveland, 1905

"There is no likelihood man can ever tap the power of the atom."
Robert Milliken, Nobel Prize in Physics, 1923

"Heavier than air flying machines are impossible." 
Lord Kelvin, President, Royal Society, c.1895.

"A late-1970's market research study commissioned by Bell Labs .. predicted a (cell phone) subscriber base of only 800,000 by (the year) 2000, and concluded there was no market at any price.'" "...by next year (2000) there were in fact be an estimated 80,000,000 subscribers in the U.S. alone.."

"In 1876, a Western Union internal memo predicted, this 'telephone" has too many shortcomings to be seriously considered as a means of communication." Magazine, January 2000, page 64

"Stocks have reached what looks like a permanently high plateau."
Irving Fischer, Yale Economics Prof., 1929

"I think there is a world market for maybe five computers."
Watson Sr., President of IBM, 1943

""With over 50 foreign cars already on sale here, the Japanese auto industry isn't likely to carve out a big slice of the US market." 
Business Week, August 2, 1968.

"We are probably nearing the limit of all we can know about astronomy."
Simon Newcomb, astronomer, 1888.

Hope and Faith

“Hope is itself a species of happiness, and, perhaps, the chief happiness which this world affords: but like all other pleasures immoderately enjoyed, the excess of hope must be expiated by pain; and expectations improperly indulged must end in disappointment.”
Samuel Johnson (1709-84)

Ernie on low volume stocks

There are a lot of thinly traded stocks, so that is one area where big funds will not trade. Because of low liquidity, the big funds are unable to take advantage of them. They need to make money on a $10 million portfolio, and yet the stock may have a daily trading volume, in terms of dollars, maybe only $100,000. So there is no way this would interest the major institutional investor. But thinly traded stocks are something the independent trader can take advantage of.

Another area is low-priced stocks. I worked in numerous places where there is a strict prohibition against buying stocks less than $2, for example. There is no particular reason that rule was imposed except for possibly transaction costs. If you trade in a size suitable for an independent trader, however, there is no reason why you should not be able to buy these kinds of low-priced stocks.

There are also strategies that trade once a year, once a quarter, or once a month. These are strategies that do not interest a lot of hedge funds because they need to make a profit practically every month, if not every week. So if you have a strategy proven to be profitable once a year, you can be assured it is not something the institutions want to engage in. As an independent trader you have no such concern, so you can go right ahead with these strategies... (continue reading)

Reference Post: Why trade illiquid stocks...