Ray Dalio

Founder and CIO Mentor

A global macro investor for more than 50 years, Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates out of his two-bedroom apartment in NYC and ran it for most of its 47 years, building it into the largest hedge fund in the world and the fifth most important private company in the US according to Fortune Magazine.

His investment innovations (e.g., risk parity, alpha overlay, and All Weather) changed the way global institutions approach investing, and he has received several lifetime achievement awards. Over the decades he has been a valued macroeconomic advisor to many policy makers around the world. Because of the impact his thinking has had on global macroeconomic policies, he was named by TIME magazine as one of the “100 Most Influential People in the World.” Today, Ray remains an investor and mentor at Bridgewater and serves on its board. He is also the #1 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.

Ray graduated with a BS in Finance from C.W. Post College in 1971 and earned an MBA degree from Harvard Business School in 1973. 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.

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More from Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio Shares His Latest on the Five Big Forces from the OceanXplorer

October 3, 2024

Ray Dalio, Jim Haskel

Head of Client Service and BDO Editor Jim Haskel speaks with Bridgewater founder and CIO mentor Ray Dalio aboard his OceanXplorer ship in Singapore about the five big forces that shape history and markets and how they’re playing out today.

Ray Dalio on the Big Forces Shaping Global Conditions

September 8, 2023

Ray Dalio, Jim Haskel

In this two-part series, founder and CIO mentor Ray Dalio uses his five big forces framework to discuss what the great transfer of debt from the private sector to the public sector means for investors, the growing threats to the domestic political order, the US-China conflict, China’s economic challenges, and why China hasn’t yet engineered a beautiful deleveraging.

Ray Dalio and GMO's Jeremy Grantham on How They're Seeing the World Right Now

May 17, 2022

Ray Dalio, Jeremy Grantham, Jim Haskel, Alex Shahidi

The founders of Bridgewater and GMO discuss the big risks they’re watching, including inflationary pressures, political conflict, asset bubbles, and climate change — and what investors can do to protect themselves.

Ray Dalio on How He’s Seeing the World Right Now

September 15, 2021

Ray Dalio

Bridgewater Founder and Co-CIO Ray Dalio joins CNBC’s Andrew Ross Sorkin at the SALT global thought leadership forum, discussing where we are on debt monetization, internal political conflicts, and the rise of China — and what these forces mean for investors.

Ray Dalio and Larry Summers Discuss the New Paradigm

June 21, 2021

In a Bloomberg interview at the Qatar Economic Forum, Bridgewater Founder and Co-CIO Ray Dalio and former Treasury Secretary Larry Summers share their thoughts on the risk of inflation, what’s next for the US dollar, and the Fed’s difficult dilemma.

CEO David McCormick and Founder Ray Dalio Discuss Phases of Life and Bridgewater’s Leadership Transition

In a wide-ranging conversation, CEO David McCormick interviews Bridgewater’s Founder and Co-CIO, Ray Dalio, about his journey through the various phases of life and the transition of Bridgewater to the next generation of leaders. Among many words of wisdom, Ray offers this advice: “Be audacious and humble at the same time.”

Ray Dalio: Managing Money in a Zero Interest Rate Environment

The coronavirus has accelerated a new paradigm of coordinated monetary and fiscal policy where central banks are printing money to finance large budget deficits and spark spending. Senior Portfolio Strategist Jim Haskel and Co-CIO Ray Dalio explore why the by-product — zero or near-zero interest rates across the developed world — is a critical issue for investors to understand and how similar moments in history can provide valuable lessons to navigate volatility.

60 Minutes: Founder Ray Dalio Explains His Principles

In an exclusive interview on "60 Minutes" with Bill Whitaker, founder and co-CIO Ray Dalio discusses the American dream, philanthropy, and life inside Bridgewater.

How the Economic Machine Works

How does the economy really work? This simple but not simplistic video by Ray Dalio, Founder of Bridgewater Associates, shows the basic driving forces behind the economy, and explains why economic cycles occur by breaking down concepts such as credit, interest rates, leveraging and deleveraging.

The Changing World Order: Where We Are, and Where We're Going

Ray Dalio's study on the rises and declines of past leading empires puts today’s economic, political, and policy situation into perspective of the big picture.

TechCrunch: Ray Dalio Looks Into Our Economic Future, Shares Bridgewater's Principles

A TechCrunch feature of Ray Dalio describes the Bridgewater founder's economic outlooks, his latest efforts to spread the gospel of principles-driven decision making, and the influence of the Beatles.

Populism: The Phenomenon

This report is an examination of populism, the phenomenon — how it typically germinates, grows, and runs its course.

Bloomberg TV: Ray Dalio on a Lifetime of Principles

In an exclusive interview with Bloomberg's Erik Schatzker, Bridgewater's founder Ray Dalio explains how principles — rules for life and business — are the foundation of the hedge fund's success over the past four decades.

How to Build a Company Where the Best Ideas Win

In 2017, our founder Ray Dalio delivered a TED Talk about the principles and tools driving our culture. Watch here.

Bridgewater Founder Ray Dalio on "This is Success" From Business Insider

Business Insider's Richard Feloni discusses how Ray Dalio built the world's largest hedge fund around a unique culture of radical transparency and what success means to Ray now at this point in his career. "My concept of success is having others successful without me."

Larry Summers and Ray Dalio on How the Economic Machine Works

A thought-provoking interview between Ray Dalio and Larry Summers, President Emeritus of Harvard University and former US Treasury Secretary.

NPR Marketplace: Ray Dalio Explains Why Transparency Leads to Thoughtfulness

"Marketplace Morning Report" host David Brancaccio asked Bridgewater Founder Ray Dalio how honesty, radical transparency, and a thick skin has led to 40+ years of better decisions and how Bridgewater’s app, a digital coach, makes those lessons available to the whole organization.

Ray Dalio on LinkedIn: How Bridgewater's Culture Drives Its Success

At most companies, everybody works two jobs: their actual job and the extra job of managing other people’s impressions of them to make themselves look good. In such an environment, people tend to hide their mistakes and those of others out of fear that pointing them out will lead to their own mistakes being exposed.

Financial Times: Pay Attention to the Long-Term Debt Cycle

January 2016: In a Financial Times op-ed, Bridgewater's founder Ray Dalio urges readers to look past the short-term debt cycle: "The Federal Reserve's template, and that of most economists and market participants, reflects the business cycle," he writes, noting the need to pay attention to both the short-term business cycle and the long-term debt cycle.

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Ray Dalio

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