109: Edward Thorp – The man who beat the dealer, and later, beat the market

I’m not sure how to best say this, but Edward Thorp, is kind of a big deal…

Not only in the world of financial markets, but he’s also a household name amongst the gambling scene. He’s the man who beat the dealer, and later, beat the market.

It was during the late-50’s and early-60’s, when Ed, a math genius and professor at MIT, took on the challenge of discovering a way to get an edge playing gambling games such as blackjack, roulette and baccarat. Long story short; Ed won—and he’s now considered the father of card counting.

From there, the next obvious move for Ed was to take on financial markets—which he also did with a great degree of success. His first hedge fund, Princeton Newport Partners, achieved an annualized return of 19.1% (before fees) over a 19-year period, with 227 of 230 months being profitable—the worst monthly loss being less than 1%.

Ed’s most recent book, A Man For All Markets, is now available on Amazon.

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