The Greatest Trade of All Time? | Finance Magnates (2024)

FAQs

What is the greatest trade of all time? ›

The best trade in history is often considered to be George Soros's shorting of the British Pound in the early 1990s, making over $1 billion. This trade, along with others by notable investors, involved highly leveraged currency exploitation.

Probably the greatest single trade in history occurred in the early 1990s when George Soros shorted the British Pound, making over $1 billion on the trade. Most of the greatest trades in history are highly leveraged, currency exploitation trades.

Subprime mortgage crisis

Sometimes referred to as the greatest trade in history, Paulson's firm made a fortune and he earned over $4 billion personally on this trade alone. Paulson worked with Goldman Sachs to provide liquidity for low-performing home loans in Arizona, California, Florida and Nevada.

The Greatest Trade Ever: The Behind-the-Scenes Story of How John Paulson Defied Wall Street and Made Financial History is a debut non-fiction book by American journalist Gregory Zuckerman.

Soros emphasizes strategic risk-taking with highly leveraged bets grounded in a global macroeconomic analysis, and he maintains the flexibility to adapt investment decisions based on changing market information.

Livermore advised investors to buy on a rising market and sell on a down one. Livermore maintained that leading stocks would be the first to break a trading range and reach top prices. Livermore recommended that investors should draw out half of every profit made and set it aside as a reserve.

One of the oldest trades documented was that of shells used as tools, with evidence dating as far back as 3200BC. Without documentation, trade is believed to have begun well before recorded trade. One example is the bartering of food: if one person had pigeons and wanted wheat, they would have traded pigeons for wheat.

In the mid-2000s, Burry was famous for placing a wager against the housing market and profited handsomely from the subprime lending crisis and the collapse of numerous major financial entities in 2008.

Who Is the Richest Hedge Fund Manager? Ken Griffin of Citadel is both the richest hedge fund manager and the highest paid. In 2022, he earned $41. billion, and by the beginning of 2023 his net worth was estimated at $35 billion.

Paulson, who started his hedge fund firm Paulson & Co. in 1994, is best known for betting against subprime mortgages at the peak of the 2007 credit bubble, per Forbes. His net worth is a staggering US$3.5 billion, per the same source.

When did John Paulson become a billionaire? ›

Founder, president and portfolio manager, Paulson & Company, Inc. Became a billionaire in 2007 by shorting subprime mortgage securities after the housing crash. Serves on the boards of many organizations, including the board of trustees of New York University and the board of trustees of the Central Park Conservancy.

3.5 billion USD (2024)

John Paulson / Net worth

He rose to fame at the height of the 2008 financial crisis, making $4 billion by shorting the housing market. Paulson & Co, a hedge fund he founded in 1994, generated about $15 billion for investors even as turmoil rocked the markets.

The turnover rate is 13%. In John Paulson's current portfolio as of 2024-03-31, the top 5 holdings are Madrigal Pharmaceuticals Inc (MDGL), Bausch Health Companies Inc (BHC), BrightSphere Investment Group Inc (BSIG), Perpetua Resources Corp (PPTA), Novagold Resources Inc (NG), not including call and put options.

3.5 billion USD (2024)

John Paulson / Net worth