Legends of Trading: How They Make Billions

While most traders are hitting a wall of losses, these five guys have turned the market into their own ATM. Here are their stories.

George Soros doesn't just trade — he hunts for systemic market errors. In 1992, he single-handedly “took down” the Bank of England and earned over $1 billion. His trick: to see what others miss. Macroeconomic trends are his hunting grounds.

Mark Minervini is living proof that technical analysis works. In 1997, he won the U.S. Traders Championship with +155% for the year. Then he was silent for 24 years… and in 2021, he pulled off the trick again, but with +334.8%. Yes, you read the numbers correctly.

Jim Simons, a mathematician by education, created what is now called the “holy grail of trading”. An average return of 66% per year over 40 years is not luck, it's algorithms that see market patterns better than humans.

Ed Seykota was a pioneer of algorithmic trading when no one had heard of it. For 30 years straight, +60% annual returns. His motto is simple: follow the trend and manage risk.

Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater — one of the largest hedge funds on the planet. His approach: long-term trends + cold risk calculation. Plus charity in the tens of millions.

Main takeaway? They all think systematically — seeing patterns where others see chaos. Speculation or strategy — this is the difference between most traders and legends.