Jim Simons, billionaire hedge fund manager, math whiz and philanthropist, dies at 86
NY Post
Jim Simons, the math professor who became one of the most successful hedge fund managers in history, died on Friday at the age of 86, according to his foundation.
Simons, a prolific philanthropist who has given away more than $1 billion to Stony Brook University, passed away in New York City on Friday, the Simons Foundation announced on its web site.
He is best known for using advanced mathematical models and algorithms to guide investment strategy while at the helm of Renaissance Technologies, the Long Island-based hedge fund which routinely generated billions of dollars in returns.
“There is one GOAT [greatest of all time]. His name was Jim Simons,” Clifford Asness, managing and founding principal of AQR Capital Management told the Wall Street Journal.
“That he was also a nice, kind, generous and caring man just makes it that much more amazing.”
Simons used a strategy of determining the probabilities of a stock performance and balancing the portfolio accordingly.
