August 1, 2025 — Bridgewater Associates completed its buy-back of every share still held by Ray Dalio, simultaneously removing his board seat.
At 76, the godfather of hedge funds has executed a clean, dual exit—financial and governance—from the firm he founded half a century ago.
For Tigers: Would you rate Dalio a perfect 10, or does the legend still carry regrets?
Bridgewater in One Snapshot
Assets Under Management: ~US$92.1 billion—still the world’s largest hedge fund.
Performance: Pure Alpha 18% vol fund is up 17 % net in H1 2025, beating most macro peers.
Valuation: Brunei’s sovereign fund just redeemed cash and then turned around to buy a minority stake in the parent—a back-door “IPO-level” price tag. Translation: Dalio cashed out at the absolute peak of brand and scale.
Dalio: Turning Near-Death Scripts into Wall-Street Epics
I. Opening Act—One Card Table, $4,000 and the Birth of the McNugget
Age 26. Fired on the spot. Dalio borrowed $4 k from his roommate, set up a folding table in a two-bedroom Manhattan flat and hedged chicken costs for McDonald’s. He modeled corn, soybean meal and broiler cycles, locked in six months of input costs—and the McNugget was born.
Investor Skill #1: Convert market noise into quantifiable alpha.
II. First Brush with Death
1982’s “Doom Call” on Live TV Dalio went on CBS predicting Mexico’s default would crash the world. The Fed eased, stocks soared; Bridgewater lost 70 % overnight and left him with an IOU.
Investor Skill #2: Log the loss in the system, not in your emotions.
He broke the humiliation into 60 bullet points—later the first chapter of Principles.
III.Triple Crowning：The Bigger the Crisis, the Bigger the Stage
1987 Crash: Pure Alpha +22 % (inside 18 % vol target)
2008 GFC: Industry ‑19 %, Bridgewater +14 %
2020 Flash-Crash: Rumored insolvency, finished the year positive Across 50 years: 25 profitable out of 28, 12 % annualized, peak AUM US$160 B.
Investor Skill #3: All Weather = risk parity + disciplined leverage.
Dalio carved the world into four macro quadrants (growth up/down × inflation up/down), equalized the risk of each, then layered tactical long/short wagers on top.
IV. The Art of Exiting at the Top
Eight Years to Sell the “Founder Premium” August 1, 2025. At US$92.1 B AUM, Dalio sells his final stake back to the parent company and vacates the board.
Investor Skill #4: Liquidity > Control—learn to ring the register at the cycle’s summit.
Timeline:
2017 – Step down as CEO (sell management premium)
2022 – Relinquish voting rights (sell governance premium)
2025 – Liquidate all shares (sell brand premium)
No bell, no roadshow—just US$1.2 B in cash and 100 % liquid family-office firepower.
V.Five Replicable Maxims
Any market noise can be decomposed into tradeable factors.
Journal the loss the same day—never blame the market.
Use leverage to balance risk, not to amplify direction.
At the cycle’s peak, liquidity beats control every time.
Monetize your brand gradually, not in a single fire sale.
VI.Dalio 2.0
No official titles—only “mentor & investor.” A family office and a forthcoming book/podcast pipeline will keep the macro views flowing.
Recent hot take: China needs a “beautiful deleveraging” or risks a “lost decade.”
Estimated net worth: US$19 B, still managed under the All Weather risk-parity framework.
Tiger Roars
Which stock or fund in your portfolio is screaming for a “parabolic exit” like Dalio’s?
Drop your rating—10/10 legend or room for regret?
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