There are many great philosophers of Wall Street: Warren Buffett. Nassim Taleb. Gordon Gekko. (Okay, he’s not real, but he still counts.) Today’s Wall Street Journal dives into the doctrine of Ray Dalio, the billionaire hedge-fund manager-cum-guru who has become known for his “Principles,” an 83-page, Darwin-inspired list of 295 imperatives, and a worldview that shares DNA with the concept of “radical honesty.”
Mr. Dalio’s basic philosophy is what he calls “hyper-realism,” a notion that brutal honesty, no matter how uncomfortable, yields the best results. Principle No. 8: “There is nothing to fear from truth … Being truthful is essential to being an independent thinker and obtaining greater understanding of what is right.”
Ruthlessness is great for making money: Bridgewater has averaged 11 percent returns since the crisis began in 2007. But how is it, we wonder, to live with such a person? The Journal tells us:
Money Talks: A Hedge-Fund King Philosophizes on Truth and Weasel [WSJ]
Ray Dalio’s Principles [Bridgewater - PDF]
Related: I Think You’re Fat [Esquire]
