Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio grew up in Queens and on Long Island, New York. He bought his first stock at 12 with money from caddying. He studied finance at Long Island University and took an MBA at Harvard Business School in 1973.

In 1975 he started Bridgewater Associates from his apartment. It grew into the largest hedge fund in the world, known for its Pure Alpha and All Weather strategies. A failed bet in 1982, when he predicted a depression that did not come, almost ended the firm. Dalio says that mistake taught him to look for people who disagree with him and to test his own views.

Principles (2017) began as an internal document at Bridgewater. It sets out his rules for life and work: face reality, use pain plus reflection to make progress, and build an idea meritocracy through radical truth and radical transparency. Former staff have described the culture these rules created as harsh, a claim Dalio disputes. He later wrote Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order. He gave up control of Bridgewater in 2022 and sold his last shares in the firm in 2025.