Last week a well-known hedge fund manager/philanthropist/mathematician left this earth.
Jim Simons was considered the godfather of quantitative finance/trading. His success came from walking down a different path. He was one of the first to successfully look at the capital markets as a series of patterns to be figured out. And then he figured them out. Not unlike a science experiment.
Hypothesis
Experiment
Conclusion
Repeat
He and fund(s) were widely successful. So much so that the returns on his fund have no rival in the history of investing. No one is quite sure how they do it. He was able to accumulate quite a bit of capital in his time here on earth.
The reason this resonates with me is he lived very close to me. He was a prominent member of the community. Giving a large sum to the local state university. bought a large piece of land and made it into a public park backed by a foundation to run it.
I did not know the man and I never actually met him. I did see him several times out and about in the neighborhood walking near his house. And dining at a local restaurant. I also interviewed to work at his hedge fund but was not offered a position. I also have some friends who did know him personally and had nothing but kind things to say.
I think its worth calling out that it is possible to become wildly successful both in a personal and financial way and still retain your humanity.
By all accounts, Jim was a kind and generous man and there was not a single published account of anything negative.
Jim was a giant of a human in both intellect and kindness. Two attributes that are not emphasized enough.
Rest in peace.