The Greatest Traders In The World And Their Deals V

John Paulson

John Paulson is one of the most famous hedge fund managers nowadays. Paulson became world-famous in 2007 by shorting the US housing market, as he foresaw the subprime mortgage crisis and bet against mortgage backed securities by investing in credit default swaps.
In 2006 John Paulson realized something that few others suspected - the housing market and the value of subprime mortgages were grossly inflated and headed for a dramatic fall. 
In the summer of 2007, the markets began to implode, bringing Paulson early profits, but also sparking efforts to rescue real estate and derail him. By the end of the year  John Paulson earned more than $15 billion for his company, although he had pulled off the greatest trade in financial history.

Paulson made billions more in 2008 by transforming his brave move.  Some of the underdog investors who attempted the daring trade also earned fortunes. But others who got the timing wrong met devastating failure, discovering that being early and right wasn't nearly enough.

What Paulson has done is truly remarkable. There are many analysts who have been able to predict this balloon, but people who have made a fortune as a result of this are few.
The conclusion from his story is that big money make those who bravely stand against the opinion of the crowd.

The Greatest Traders In The World And Their Deals IV

Jesse Livermore

This is the man who inspired "the trader's bible" - Jesse Lauriston Livermore. He is one of the greatest traders that few people know about. A remarkable trader, one of the pioneers of the financial markets. The reason to become a legend is that he has predicted perfectly not just a financial crisis, but also the fact that he traded at a time when the information and the set of financial instruments and tools were nothing compared to today's.
Livermore first became famous after the  Panic of 1907 when he sold the market short as it crashed. He noticed conditions where a lack of capital existed to buy stock. Accordingly, he predicted that there would be a sharp drop in prices when many speculators were simultaneously forced to sell by margin calls and a lack of credit. With the lack of capital, there would be no buyers in sight to absorb the sold stock, further driving down prices. After the crash the result is more than impressive - $ 3 million in one day, equivalent to about 70 million today's money.
Jesse Livermore was not just another lucky man because he has not just retained his wealth but has repeatedly increased it after the next major collapse in 1929. While much of the American population is losing their jobs and living in poverty, trading in the financial markets during the Wall Street crash makes Livermore one of the few people in the world at that time to own over 100 million dollars after short-selling profits.
Jesse Livermore is often called "the first real trader in the world" or “the original wolf of Wall Street”.
He was highly successful, but also lost his fortune several times. He was always the first to admit when he made a mistake, and when he lost money it came down to two potential culprits:
1. The rules for trading were not fully formulated (not the case for most of his losses).
2. The rules were not followed.
To this day Jesse Livermore remains the most successful stock and commodities trader in the history of the stock market.

The Greatest Traders In The World And Their Deals III

George Soros

 

It’s  time to mention the legend of our times - George Soros. Remarkable person with great influence, whose numerous foundations will continue to pursue his mission for many years.
George Soros' most notable deal is with the start of his carrier. In 1992 he made a stroke in a way that the whole world could understand.
In the early 1990s, the Central Bank of England was part of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. Its task is to prevent excessive fluctuations in the price of the British pound compared to other currencies in the mechanism. Although the bank pledges a 15% interest rate on its currency, the plummet  of the British pound is inevitable. By September 16, 1992, Black Wednesday, Soros's fund had sold short more than $10 billion in pounds, profiting from the UK government's reluctance to either raise its interest rates to levels comparable to those of other European Exchange Rate Mechanism countries or float its currency. In addition to his direct pressure on foreign exchange with his positions, Soros also exerts and public pressure. In each of his more significant media engagements, he predicted with great confidence a fall in the value of the pound attracting more large investors to this idea. An idea that brings him a profit of $ 1.1 billion for one night. Finally, the UK withdrew from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, devaluating the pound.
However, George Soros is unlikely to be remembered just as "the man who broke the Bank of England." It is hard to list all charity initiatives through which he and his foundations are trying to make the world better.
George Soros has made his mark as an enormously successful speculator, wise enough to largely withdraw when still way ahead of the game. The bulk of his enormous winnings is now devoted to encouraging transitional and emerging nations to become "open societies," open not only in the sense of freedom of commerce but—more important—tolerant of new ideas and different modes of thinking and behavior.