Paul Tudor Jones facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Paul Tudor Jones
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| Born |
Paul Tudor Jones II
September 28, 1954 Memphis, Tennessee, U.S.
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| Education | University of Virginia (BA) |
| Occupation | Hedge fund manager |
| Years active | 1980–present |
| Known for | Predicting Black Monday Founder of the Robin Hood Foundation |
| Title | CEO, Tudor Investment Corporation |
| Spouse(s) |
Sonia Klein
(m. 1988) |
| Children | 4 |
Paul Tudor Jones II (born September 28, 1954) is an American hedge fund manager, a person who manages large sums of money for investors. He is also known for his work as a conservationist (someone who protects nature) and a philanthropist (someone who gives money to good causes). In 1980, he started his own company, Tudor Investment Corporation, which helps manage money. A few years later, he founded the Robin Hood Foundation, a charity focused on helping people escape poverty. As of July 2024, his wealth was estimated to be around US$8.1 billion.
Contents
Early Life and Education
Paul Tudor Jones was born in Memphis, Tennessee. His father, John Paul "Jack" Jones, worked in transportation law. His family also owned and ran The Daily News, a newspaper, since 1886. His father was the publisher of this newspaper for 34 years.
Jones went to Presbyterian Day School, an elementary school for boys. He then attended Memphis University School for high school. Later, he studied at the University of Virginia. While there, he was a champion in welterweight boxing. He was also the president of the Sigma Alpha Epsilon fraternity. To help pay for his studies, Jones wrote for his family's newspaper using the pen name Paul Eagle.
In 1976, he earned a bachelor's degree in economics from the University of Virginia. He was accepted into Harvard Business School in the 1980s but decided not to go.
Career in Finance
Starting in Cotton Trading (1976)
After college in 1976, Jones wanted to learn about trading. His cousin, William Dunavant Jr., was the CEO of a large cotton trading company. Dunavant introduced Jones to Eli Tullis, a commodity broker in New Orleans. Tullis hired Jones and taught him how to trade cotton futures at the New York Cotton Exchange. Jones later became the chairman of the New York Cotton Exchange from 1992 to 1995.
Working at E. F. Hutton & Co. (1976–1980)
At 24 years old, Jones became a commodities broker for E. F. Hutton & Co. This is where he met and became friends with Glenn Dubin.
Founding Tudor Investment Corporation (1980)
In 1980, Paul Tudor Jones started his own company, Tudor Investment Corporation. It is an asset management firm located in Stamford, Connecticut. At first, Jones was not very well known. His early clients included his cousin Dunavant and his mentor Tullis. One of his first big investments was $30,000 from Commodities Corporation.
Jones used his experience in cotton trading to expand into other areas. He started trading different commodities and financial tools. These included stock-index contracts and currency futures.
Predicting Black Monday (1987)
One of Jones's biggest successes was predicting the stock market crash known as Black Monday in 1987. He made a lot of money during this event by betting that the market would fall.
In 1987, his company, Tudor, made a profit of 125.9 percent after fees. This earned him an estimated $100 million. Peter Borish, who worked closely with Jones, also helped predict the crash. He compared the 1987 market to the market before the 1929 crash.
Innovations in the 1990s
In the 1990s, Jones helped create FINEX. This was the financial futures part of the New York Board of Trade. He also helped develop the U.S. dollar index futures contract. These changes made trading more flexible.
In 1990, Jones made a profit of 87.4 percent by betting against the Japanese stock market as its bubble burst.
Investment Ideas
Jones's trading style is called global macro trading. This means he looks at big economic trends around the world. He mostly uses technical analysis, which involves studying past market data to predict future prices. He also focuses on momentum, which means he looks for markets that are already moving in a certain direction.
In 2020, Jones also shared that he owns bitcoin. He sees it as a way to protect his wealth against inflation, which is when money loses its buying power.
Wealth and Giving Back
As of November 2019, Forbes Magazine estimated Paul Tudor Jones's wealth to be US$5.3 billion. This made him one of the richest people and one of the highest-earning hedge fund managers.
In 2019, Jones and his wife, Sonia, joined the Giving Pledge. This is a promise by wealthy individuals to give away most of their money to charity. They mentioned their religious upbringing as a reason for this decision.
Protecting Nature
In 1993, Jones helped start the Everglades Foundation. This group works to protect the Everglades, which are important wetlands in Florida. He leads the board of this organization.
In 2006, the New York Times called Jones an "American conservationist." They reported that in 2002, the Tanzanian government leased him the Grumeti reserve in Tanzania. Jones decided to pay the hunting fees for this area but almost completely stopped hunting there. This helped protect the wildlife.
In 2016, the National Audubon Society gave Jones the Audubon Medal. This award recognized his efforts to protect nature while also thinking about economic sustainability.
Helping Others (Philanthropy)
In 1986, Jones decided to help a sixth-grade class in Bedford–Stuyvesant, Brooklyn. He promised college scholarships to students who graduated from high school. His goal was for 90% of them to finish high school. However, only 33% of the students graduated. Jones realized he had "vastly underestimated" the challenges these students faced. He learned important lessons from this experience.
In 2004, Jones founded the Excellence Charter School. This was the first all-boys charter school in the country, located in Brooklyn, New York. He also started and led the Bedford Stuyvesant I Have A Dream Foundation, which helps local students go to college.
Supporting the University of Virginia
Jones has given large donations to his old university, the University of Virginia. One donation was $44 million, which helped build a new basketball arena. This arena was named the John Paul Jones Arena in honor of his father, who also went to the university. In 2012, he and his wife gave $12 million to create a new Contemplative Sciences Center at the university.
Robin Hood Foundation
Jones is the founder of the Robin Hood Foundation. This charity gets a lot of support from hedge fund managers. It works to reduce poverty in New York City. Other people who helped start it include Peter Borish and Glenn Dubin.
Just Capital
He also created a non-profit organization called Just Capital. This group helps people learn about companies that are considered "just" or fair. They use surveys to find out what Americans care about most in companies. Just Capital also has an investment fund that includes only companies believed to be "just."
Public Recognition
In 1987, a TV show called Trader was made about Jones. It showed him as a young man predicting the 1987 stock market crash. Even though the show was positive, Jones later asked for it to be taken out of circulation. People have different ideas why, but some think it might have shown his trading secrets.
In 1988, The Wall Street Journal wrote a front-page story about Jones. They called him "the most-watched, most-talked-about man on Wall Street."
Reuters described Jones in 2019 as "one of the giants" and a "legend" among macro traders.
In 2008, he was added to Institutional Investors Alpha's Hedge Fund Manager Hall of Fame. In 2019, he received the Golden Plate Award from the American Academy of Achievement.
Personal Life
In 1988, Jones married Sonia Klein, who was born in Australia and is a yoga entrepreneur. They have four children: three daughters and one son. His oldest daughter, Caroline, is a country-pop singer and is part of the Zac Brown Band. Jones has encouraged his daughters to learn about macro trading. He lives in Palm Beach, Florida.
Politics and Other Roles
Paul Tudor Jones is politically independent. He has given money to both Democratic and Republican politicians. For example, he donated to Mitt Romney in 2012 and hosted a fundraiser for Barack Obama in 2008. He also supported John McCain and Rudy Giuliani's campaigns.
Jones also served as a director for the Futures Industry Association. He helped create an education part of the association, which later became the Institute for Financial Markets. He also supported the creation of the first ethics training course for futures exchanges in the United States.
See also
In Spanish: Paul Tudor Jones para niños
- List of University of Virginia people
