As the final move in his succession plan, Ray Dalio is giving up control of Bridgewater Associates, the hedge fund firm that he founded in 1975. Bridgewater is now the world’s largest hedge fund, with about $150 billion in assets.
The 73-year-old hedge fund executive confirmed his decision in a series of tweets, after first announcing it in a Bloomberg interview.
“Today is a very special day for me and Bridgewater Associates because I transitioned my control of Bridgewater to the next generation and I feel great about the people and ‘machine’ now in control,” he tweeted Tuesday morning. “This transition moment is the culmination of a 47-year journey.”
Dalio — who gained notoriety beyond hedge fund circles with a book of investment and management philosophy called “Principles” — officially gave up his voting rights and his role as a co-chief investment officer at the end of September. But Dalio said he will continue to advise co-chief investment officers Bob Prince and Greg Jensen, as well as the investment committee.
Dalio turned Bridgewater into the best money manager of all time, according to an annual list compiled by by Rick Sopher, chairman of LCH Investments in London. As of the end of last year, Bridgewater had made investors $52.2 billion since 1975, according to Sopher — even though Bridgewater’s returns in 2021 were only $5.7 billion on assets under management of $99.2 billion.
A multi billionaire — Forbes pegs his net worth at $19.1 billion — Dalio got his start in investing while caddying at a Long Island golf course when he was 12 years old. He launched Bridgewater two years after receiving an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1973.
Dalio soon became known for his “Daily Observations” that were sent to clients, originally by Telex, which led to his first big get: A $5 million World Bank account in 1985. He continued to be known for his prescience on macroeconomic matters. Dalio was one of the first people to predict the credit crisis that would erupt into the 2008 financial crisis, and this year he has argued that Fed interest rate hikes on top of inflation will lead to stagflation. Bridgewater also profited from timely short positions in European stocks as the impact of the Russia sanctions pummeled European economies.
The Bridgewater founder stepped down from his CEO role in 2017 and as chairman at the end of 2021. In the summer of 2020 he transitioned his CIO role to focus on mentoring the investment committee.
“From my starting Bridgewater w/ 2 people helping me in my 2-bedroom apartment to a multi-generation institution w/ 1,300 people that I’m helping. I can now visualize it doing great things for generations w/ out me. That’s as good as it gets,” Dalio tweeted.
“While it hasn’t been easy over the last 12 years, we made it!” he added. Dalio noted that continuing to be a “mentor, an investor, and board member at Bridgewater” is “a dream come true.”
