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top forex traders ever in history

Posted: Sun Sep 05, 2004 11:51 pm
by helicopterdick
Could anyone suggest to me a few top forex traders like Paul Jones?
And is there any biograghy for them?
Thanks! :D

Posted: Mon Sep 06, 2004 5:06 am
by sagev
Hi helicopterdick,
Sorry if I misread what you mean. If my memory doesn't go wrong, Paul Tudor Jones is more likely to be regarded as a famous commodity trader than a currency trader. Thus I guess your intention is to search for forex traders who are as famous as PT jones. The first name came into my mind is Bill Lipschutz, you can find an interview of him in the book by Jack Schwager: The New Market Wizards. I'm not certain whether George Soros can be classified as a currency trader, but his money are made mainly from FOREX market, and his book The Alchemy of Finance are well readable.

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 12:59 pm
by MCT
The name JP McManus comes to mind.

This guy is not a hedge fund manager or a CTA; he simply manages he's own funds.

He just bought Manchester United, the UK soccer team, with a close friend of his.

Currencies are his speciality and his bets are bank sized. Estimates of his net worth has ranged anywhere from $200 million to $1 billion.

Most importantly his thoughts on risk are worth the read. He's featured in High Rollers of the Turf, By Raymond Smith.

There are very few guys like him these days. His approach reminds me of Jesse, but unlike Jesse, this guy so far has kept his money.

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 3:14 pm
by Demon
Hi there, just to clear up, he doesn't own Man Utd, but in partnership with a guy called John Magnier (Head of the Coolmore Stud) holds a major stake (somewhere in the region of 25% to 30% comes to mind). His real passion though is Horse Racing. He and John Magnier got involved with the Manager of Man Utd, Alex Ferguson. They thought it would be a great idea to 'allow' Alex to 'buy' a share in one of their horses - not one of their best, but a good one - as a form of promotion. At the same time they purchased a small stake in Man Utd.

Everything was rosy until Rock of Gibralter turned out to be the horse of a lifetime and after his racing career, was sent to stud to earn millions of dollars in stud fees. It turned out that the terms of the purchase agreement weren't simple though. Alex had a half share in it during its racing career, but only 5% of it once it went to stud. However, this deal was sealed by a handshake and a 'gentleman's agreement'. Alex believed he owned 50% of it full stop.

To cut a long story short, it went to court and the Coolmore boys built up their stake in Man Utd to put pressure on Alex to back down. It got very messy and pretty nasty - the Man Utd fans weren't to pleased either - but in the end, Alex backed down. Turned out he had been GIVEN the stake in the first place! So he had 50% of the prize money and 5% of the stud fees for putting his name to the horse!

JP's Swiss operation is very secretive and he keeps a low profile, but he does seem to have the 'Midas Touch'.

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 5:14 pm
by MCT
Hi Darran,

Thanks for the additional info ..
Hi there, just to clear up, he doesn't own Man Utd, but in partnership with a guy called John Magnier (Head of the Coolmore Stud) holds a major stake (somewhere in the region of 25% to 30% comes to mind).
I said, "he just bought Manchester United, the UK soccer team, with a close friend of his." I didn't want to get into the details. John Magnier would be that good friend.
His real passion though is Horse Racing.
I would agree with you. I'd also dare to add calculated aggressive risk taking as his passion.
Everything was rosy until Rock of Gibralter turned out to be the horse of a lifetime and after his racing career, was sent to stud to earn millions of dollars in stud fees.
Even before Rock of Gibralte, he was rich making quite a name for himself for his streakes as a punter. Still, its a Sure thing he made tones in stud fees after acquiring ROG. I've read from various sources, including interviews he gave, the vast majority of his wealth(in the neigbouthood of 80-90%) was generated in the currency markets. Interestingly, in reference to risk, he has stated, "the currency markets are no different than the race tracks." He bets the same way whether at the track or the currency markets. It was no luck he came across ROG, he just knew a good horse when he saw one. Sure thing he has the midas touch; they didn't call him the Sundance kid of nothing.:wink:

He's a tax exile living in swiss and is known to put a premium on Secrecy.

isn't Kovner now

Posted: Tue Sep 07, 2004 11:00 pm
by Nathan
managing something like 10billion? I believe he is charging 3 and 30 so he must be doing a pretty damn good job.

Posted: Wed Sep 08, 2004 8:44 am
by Demon
Hi MCT, I probably didn't make myself too clear there. You're correct, his close friend is Magnier and his wealth is nothing to do with ROG, in fact he didn't even have an interest in the horse, just that this was what drove them to take the stake in Man Utd. As for calculated risk taking, he's even more legendary for his gambling than his trading. There should be a picture of this guy under the word 'balls'' in the dictionary.