Hall of Legends

Renaissance Technologies' Medallion Fund averaged 66% annual returns before fees from 1988-2018. The greatest sustained trading performance in history. Simons was a former NSA codebreaker.

Citadel made $16B in net gains in 2022 — the most profitable year by any hedge fund ever. Griffin started trading from his Harvard dorm room with a satellite dish on the roof.

Bet against the entire subprime mortgage market using credit default swaps. His fund made $15B in a single year while the financial system collapsed around him.

Bridgewater's Pure Alpha fund returned 9.4% in 2008 while the S&P dropped 37%. Dalio had positioned into Treasuries and gold. His 'Beautiful Deleveraging' thesis proved exactly right.

Invested $5B in Bank of America preferred shares with warrants during the 2011 panic. By 2017, the position was worth $17B. Classic Buffett: be greedy when others are fearful.

Millennium made $8B in 2022 while most funds lost money. Englander's pod-based multi-strategy model has become the template for modern hedge funds. Virtually no down years since founding.

Bought massive positions in beaten-down bank stocks and distressed financial debt in early 2009. His fund returned 132% that year. Made $4B personally — one of the best single-year performances ever.

Former Google employee who became one of the most successful angel investors ever. Early bets on Twitter and Uber turned a few million into an estimated $5B+ fortune.

Invested $5B in Goldman Sachs at the peak of the 2008 crisis. Got 10% dividend plus warrants to buy shares at $115. Goldman paid him back with a $500M premium. Total profit: $3.7B.

Spent $27M on credit protection in February 2020 as COVID fears mounted. Within 3 weeks, those positions were worth $2.6B. Went on CNBC crying about the apocalypse while his hedge printed.

Former Enron trader who started Centaurus Energy. Made billions trading natural gas futures, including massive profits during the Amaranth collapse. Retired at 38 to become a philanthropist.

Shorted $10B worth of British pounds, forcing the UK out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism on 'Black Wednesday.' Earned the title 'The Man Who Broke the Bank of England.'

Actually conceived the British pound trade that Soros gets credit for. Druckenmiller pitched it, Soros told him to make it bigger. Never had a losing year in 30 years of managing money.

Immortalized as Mark Baum in The Big Short (played by Steve Carell). Eisman's FrontPoint Partners shorted subprime mortgage bonds and made over $1B. Famous for his rage at Wall Street corruption.

Invested $500K as the first outside investor in Facebook in 2004 for a 10.2% stake. By the IPO in 2012, his shares were worth over $1B. Held some shares even longer.

A former neurologist-turned-hedge-fund manager who saw the housing crisis coming years early. Endured massive client pressure and margin calls before being proven spectacularly right.

Launched a hostile bid for Gulf Oil, which was 10x the size of his own company. Even though the bid failed, he forced a sale to Chevron and walked away with $760M in greenmail profits.

The philosopher-trader who literally wrote the book on Black Swans. His Universa fund bought cheap far-out-of-the-money puts that exploded during the 2008 crash. Returned 115% in October 2008 alone.

Another Big Short hero. Bass turned $30M into $500M+ by buying credit default swaps on subprime mortgage bonds. His Hayman Capital became famous for macro bets.

Took over Trans World Airlines in a hostile takeover, sold off its assets, and walked away with $469M while the airline eventually went bankrupt. Defined the era of corporate raiders.

Soros shorted Japanese stocks ahead of the 1987 crash but got caught on the wrong side initially. He then doubled down and made $300M. He said this trade taught him more than any winner.

In 2003, when oil was at $30, Hall loaded up on long-dated oil futures betting it would hit $100. By 2008 oil hit $147. Citigroup paid him $100M in a single bonus. Earned the nickname 'God.'

Shorted the entire stock market before the 1929 crash. Made $100M ($1.5B adjusted) in a single day. Called 'The Boy Plunger.' Later lost it all and tragically took his own life.

Predicted and profited from the 1987 crash (Black Monday, -22.6% in one day). His fund returned 125.9% that year while the market imploded. Famous documentary 'Trader' captured it.

A Massachusetts financial advisor who posted his $53K GME YOLO on Reddit for over a year. His conviction held through massive drawdowns. Turned it into $46M and became the face of the retail revolution.