Niederhoffer

A name may not ring a bell rather throws you to a swampy land with gothic castle in the land of Transylvania, Romania. Victor Niederhoffer is a very successful hedge fund manager, statistician, best-selling author and ex-squash champion. He's what people in America like to call quant, and a very successful one, so successful that George Soros owned his business. Avid art collector and tennis lover, he is the type of person who had it all.

Stood at 6'3'', a face which Hollywood would instantly love, (reminds me of the guy who acted in Sex and The City , Carrie's lover in season 2, The elected Mayor remember?) and a brain that can almost literally change the world, he is the type of person I will never be but loved to, and even at times would wish to become.

But life was not all bed of roses for him. In 1997 when the Thai government decided to devalue Baht, which he betted against, believing no sane government would bring down its own currency, lost billions of dollars and ended selling all his art collections. For me when I read it I felt like that must the most embarrassing thing ever to happen to a mega-person.

Malcolm Gladwell and Nicholas Taleb used him as the strong example of the financial manager supposed gamble with money. They argue that hedge fund, financial analyst and the goons are just lucky when the value of their money goes up, and it's just a matter of time they hit their Waterloo. All financial position in the market that earns a lot of money are plain luck, and just as easily they will lose it all away one day, it's just a matter of time.

I do not mind being Niederhoffer, seriously, as most geniuses have that sort of crisis in their life. I have my own crisis as well, most of the time make me older and smarter. My only gripe is that my failures and successes are not spectacular enough.