Editors’ Note

A global macro investor for more than 50 years, Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York City and ran it for most of its 47 years, building it into the largest and most successful hedge fund in the world. Dalio remains an investor and mentor at Bridgewater and serves on its board. He is also the long-running New York Times bestselling author of Principles: Life and Work; Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order; and Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises. He graduated with a BS in finance from C.W. Post College and received an MBA degree from Harvard Business School. He has been married to his wife, Barbara, for more than 40 years and has three grown sons and five grandchildren. He is an active philanthropist with special interests in ocean exploration and helping to rectify the absence of equal opportunity in education, healthcare, and finance.

Did you always know that you had an entrepreneurial spirit and desire to build your own company?

Since I was 12, I always knew that I liked to find my own ways of making money – caddying, delivering newspapers, shoveling snow off driveways, and playing the markets – so I guess that means that I had the entrepreneurial spirit since I was a kid.

What do you feel are the keys to building a leading company?

Pursuing one’s entrepreneurial passion and gathering good people who want to be on the mission with you. Learning, especially from mistakes. Developing a clear and winning culture of meaningful work and meaningful relationships through radical truthfulness and radical transparency.

You mention radical truthfulness and radical transparency. Will you discuss these concepts and the role they played in Bridgewater’s success?

Knowing what is true and dealing with it effectively is key to the organization’s success and people’s development, yet many people and organizations prefer not to look at weaknesses, speak honestly or have open and non-hierarchical debate. I believe, and it has proven to be the case at Bridgewater, that these things are good for the individual’s and the organization’s development.

Do you feel that resilience is a trait that a person is born with, or can it be taught?

It is primarily taught.

Will you discuss times in your life when resilience was critical for you?

One occurrence that sticks in my mind was making a bad mistake in the markets in 1982 and going so broke that I had to borrow $4,000 from my dad to take care of my family, and deciding to rebuild Bridgewater from that. The most personal one was the death of my eldest son and moving on after that.

Where did your interest in the study of history develop and how did this interest impact your decision-making process?

I learned several times that some of the really big things that surprised me and most people were events that never happened in our lifetime, but happened many times before. I learned that at first in 1971 when the dollar was devalued, and I was clerking on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange. That perspective has made me and saved me a lot of money. It has also been really interesting.

What do you see as the keys to effective leadership?

I believe that the combination of creating meaningful work and meaningful relationships for people is most important. I believe that having and conveying a unique and practical vision of the mission that you’re in and making the people who are in it with you partners is key.

What are your priorities as you look to your future plans and areas of focus?

My top priority is to pass along what I have learned in my 73 years to help others.