Brokers' advertising campaigns, very often, spread a misleading message: thanks to trading, it is possible to earn a lot of money in a short time. The most daring even go as far as talking about millions of dollars. The truth is different: it takes time, perseverance, and hard work. There's no such thing as a free lunch, least of all in online trading, which is a highly competitive environment. This is also because, as recent statistics show, only 15% of traders end the year in profit.
This does not mean that becoming a millionaire through trading is impossible. There are those who have done it and have become truly rich. What is the purpose of a ranking of the richest traders? To satisfy curiosity, of course, but also to understand what the best possible scenario is, the best achievable result. Here are the 8 richest traders on the planet.
Martin Schwartz
A well-known personality, Martin Schwartz is regarded as a point of reference for many traders. Born in 1945, he has accumulated an immense fortune thanks to the stock market but also to borderline instruments such as options and futures. Schwartz is also famous for the speed with which he achieved success. In his first year of trading, he transformed $100,000 into $600,000. The following year, he earned $1.2 million. Other numbers certify his skill. For example, it is estimated that he still manages to earn $70,000 a day!
His approach is based on day trading. He has recounted his experience in the book: "Pitt Bull: Lessons from Wall Street's Champion Day", which is very useful especially for those who want to try their hand at fast trading.
Stanley Druckenmiller
Born in 1953 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, into a middle-class family, Stanley Druckenmiller has managed to earn something like $3.5 billion throughout his career without the help of a substantial family fortune. In short, he is completely self-made. He was the president of Duquesne Capital. When Druckenmiller left the role, the company had something like $12 billion in assets.
He is known primarily in the stock market arena. He has often used a trading strategy that rewards the concept of "top down" like few others, an approach that goes beyond mere technical analysis and implies studying the economic environment and the asset in general from a 360-degree perspective, including links with the outside world.
George Soros
One of the most controversial figures of this era, unjustly despised by certain political factions, George Soros rose to prominence when, in the early 1990s, he managed to earn $10 billion in a single currency speculation. There was one day, within that period, when he managed to earn $1 billion!
This feat has unfairly guaranteed him a sinister reputation, almost as if the difficulties of English banks in the last years of the past century are to be attributed to him. In reality, the figure of George Soros is as far as possible from that of a speculator. In recent years, he has donated about $8 billion for projects that promote human rights, public health, and education.
Alexander Elder
A professional trader and author of many essays, Elder was born in the Soviet Union, grew up in Estonia, and finally emigrated to New York. He is currently known as one of the richest traders in the world. He is among the world's leading experts in technical analysis and market psychology, two seemingly distant topics that demonstrate the eclecticism of this eminent figure.
Alexander Elder's most famous book is "Mind, Method and Management", in which he expounds his "3 M Theory". His book "Come into my trading room" is considered a must for any trader and has become a bestseller in just a few months.
His knowledge is encyclopedic and dynamic. The concepts on which he has focused and which represent the highlight of his theoretical elaborations are time, strategy, and money. It is thanks to Elder that many famous traders have trained and managed to achieve success.
Larry Hite
Larry Hite founded the largest commodity trading company on the planet. He is therefore one of the leading experts in terms of raw materials. In addition to being a successful trader, he has been involved in training. He has greatly contributed to the writing of numerous training and scientific publications. He is also a pioneer in identifying innovative investment tools.
Jack D. Schwager
Schwager is currently the co-portfolio manager of the ADM Investor Services Diversified Strategy Fund. He is also, like many traders on this list, the author of many essays. Among his most important publications is "Market Wizards", which among other things mentions Larry Hite several times.
Jack D. Schwager has written over ten books on hedge funds, commodities, technical analysis, and futures. He is also a mathematician and economist. He holds many conferences and seminars around the world on a wide range of topics.
Ray Dalio
Ray Dalio is 67 years old and founded the largest hedge fund on the planet, Bridgewater Associates ($159 billion under management, as of now). He currently manages a staggering sum: $15.9 billion. He earned something like half a billion dollars in 2015.
David Siegel
He is 55 years old and is one of the founders of Two Sigma Investment, one of the funds boasting the highest absolute growth, characterized by a quantitative style. It manages $32 billion and "raked in" $600 million in 2015.
