The world’s most renowned stock traders have a lot in common — they control assets worth billions of dollars and undoubtedly possess a keen trading instinct. TradingWebsite will introduce you to the world’s most popular traders, most of whom embarked on the journey to wealth from humble beginnings with a few dollars.
Dr. David Paul — Owner of an engineering company in South Africa, amassed wealth on undervalued companies
Dr. David Paul is one of the most popular traders in the world. Born into a middle-class family in Northern Ireland, David Paul earned a Bachelor of Science degree in engineering and moved to South Africa in the early 1980s, where he worked for the Anglo Group, conducting engineering research.
After a decade spent in South Africa, David Paul resigned and founded his own engineering firm, which manufactured mining tools for the South African market. In 1992, Paul sold his company and began teaching traders how to trade on the stock market and Forex.
David Paul has conducted thousands of trading seminars in the UK, Europe, and South Africa. His primary strategy was to find undervalued company stocks on the market. Paul would form an investment portfolio from such stocks and wouldn’t liquidate until the market was on the rise.
Richard Dennis — Borrowed $1,600 from his parents and made $500,000 trading soybeans
Richard Dennis, one of the best traders of all time, is known as the «Prince of the Pit». In the 1970s, Richard earned around $350 million, investing only $1,600 into the stock market.
Richard Dennis’s career started at age 17 when he worked at the Chicago Mercantile Exchange, delivering orders for traders. Concurrently with work, Richard studied at DePaul University, also located in Chicago. After graduation, Dennis went to graduate school but quickly changed his mind and returned to the stock market, but this time not as an employee, but as a private investor.
Richard Dennis borrowed $1,600 from his parents and bought a spot on the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange in Chicago, which cost him $1,200. This left him with a mere capital of $400. But not for long. In the first year alone, Richard Dennis increased his $400 to $3,000, and then turned them into $100,000. The next year, the young trader earned a massive capital — $500,000. Richard did this by trading soybeans.
At the age of 26, Richard Dennis became a millionaire. This happened thanks to the confrontation between the Soviet Union and the United States. In the 70s, when the Cold War was at its peak, the Soviet Union was secretly purchasing 30% of all American crops. Dennis took advantage of the high inflation in the stock market caused by a crop shortage and began buying shares of companies producing food products. This brought him over $350 million.
Richard Dennis left the financial markets after the financial crash in 1987. Having earned substantial capital, Dennis retired a millionaire.
Paul Tudor Jones — Billionaire trader, owner of an investment corporation
Paul Tudor Jones is one of the best American futures traders. Jones lives in Connecticut, USA, and serves as the CEO of Tudor Investment Corporation, which he founded in the 80s.
Tudor Jones is a billionaire. His corporation trades on the stock market and manages only substantial capitals exceeding $8 million. Tudor Investment Corporation invests in the US and European markets, diversifying financial assets across sectors such as macro trading, commodities, and venture capital.
Jones oversees the trading activities of his company and often personally participates in trades, while also conducting scientific research of global financial markets.
Tudor Jones once said: «The best way I have found to make money is to chase the profit on the fastest horse.» By this, Jones meant that if you use the best trading equipment and choose financial assets correctly, you can’t lose.
Tudor Jones has a positive attitude towards Bitcoin and cryptocurrencies and believes that in the near future, money will be transitioned into digital format.
Thomas Bulkowski — Talented trader from the US, creating trading strategies using patterns
Thomas Bulkowski, one of the most popular traders in the US, is known for creating new profitable trading strategies. Thomas’s trading experience in financial markets spans over 25 years. Thomas authored the book «The Complete Encyclopedia of Chart Patterns», which is a bestseller among books on stock trading.
Before getting into trading, Bulkowski worked as a programmer for many years and only entered the market at the age of 36.
Thomas Bulkowski created the website thepatternsite.com, where he freely shares his trading insights with novice investors. In particular, he teaches investors to apply different trading patterns. His website hosts over 900 articles and instructions.
Michael Burry — became the prototype of a character from the movie «The Big Short» about the financial crash of 2008
Michael James Burry is an American hedge fund manager and one of the world’s famous traders. Michael Burry appeared in the movie «The Big Short» directed by Adam McKay, which became a box office hit, where events revolved around the events preceding the economic crash of 2008.
Burry began trading in the financial markets in the 90s. In 2000, Burry founded his first hedge fund in California, which was named «Scion Capital». At that time, his trading style attracted the attention of major investment companies such as Vanguard.
In 2005, Michael James Burry’s attention switched to the subprime mortgage market. He was one of the first traders to predict the global economic crisis of 2008, having conducted complex market analysis in 2003.
Burry took out a loan of more than a billion dollars from Goldman Sachs and made a bet against the US housing market, which turned out to be very profitable. After the stock market crash in 2008, he closed his hedge fund and focused on personal investments.
What unites the most popular traders?
All successful traders share a deep interest in trading and have spent years honing their skills. At some point in their lives, they all decided to take a risk, quit their jobs or invest small capital to invest in financial markets. In the end, they all became heads of the world’s largest hedge funds and investment companies.
Beginning investors can learn a lot from the world’s best traders, observing which stocks (or cryptocurrencies) they invest in.
So, to become a successful trader, you don’t necessarily have to be a millionaire, you just need to learn — as persistently and effectively as the world’s most popular traders do: Dr. David Paul, Richard Dennis, Paul Tudor Jones, Thomas Bulkowski, and Michael James Burry.
Unusual stories of popular traders of the world
The world of trading is full of not only dizzying successes, but also exciting stories bordering on the incredible. Today I will share with you 5 stories about popular traders that will surprise you:
1. George Soros: Betting against the Bank of England
In 1992, Soros, being an experienced trader, made a bold bet against the pound sterling, predicting its devaluation. The risk was huge, but his gut was right. As a result of this deal, he earned $1 billion, and his Quantum Group fund became a legend. In 2011, he demonstrated his talent again by predicting a stock market crash. In 2008, George Soros incorrectly predicted the growth of Lehman Brothers shares, which led to significant losses.
2. Bill Gross: A Bad Tweet
In 2013, Gross, the manager of PIMCO, criticized the Fed’s actions in a tweet, which led to a panic in the market and a sharp drop in PIMCO shares. He apologized, but the incident was a stark reminder of the impact of words in the age of social media.
3. Stanley Druckenmiller: «The Man who broke the market»
In 1998, Druckenmiller, using complex mathematical models, predicted the collapse of the Russian ruble. This deal brought him huge profits, but also demonstrated the destructive power of speculative attacks on emerging markets.
4. Jesse Livermore: Stock Wolf turned Writer
Livermore, one of the most successful traders in history, became famous for his daring strategies and huge earnings. But at the end of his life, he wrote the book «Memoirs of a stock speculator», where he warned against gambling and greed that could lead to collapse.
5. Richard Dennis: A 16-year-old millionaire trader
Dennis started trading in the 1980s using the «trend following» method. By the age of 25, he had become a millionaire, and his story inspired many novice traders.
