Famous Traders and Trading Championships
Most lists of famous traders rank by fame or net worth and repeat return figures nobody can trace. These guides use only numbers with a source: fund reports, shareholder letters, contest standings and contemporary newspaper reports.
Where to start: the ranking of the best traders in the world gives the overview. The championship guide shows how real-money contests work, and the portraits go deeper into single traders and their methods.
Guides in this topic
- See who really performed best
Best Traders in the World, Ranked by Documented Returns
A ranking built only from documented annual returns, from Jim Simons to Warren Buffett, and why the famous 120% figures are missing.
- Understand trading championships
World Cup Trading Championship: Winners, Rules, Criticism
How the real-money World Cup Trading Championship works, what it costs to enter, record winners, German champions and its flaws.
- Meet the record holder
Larry Williams: The 11,376% Record Holder, Fact-Checked
Larry Williams and his 11,376% year: his COT approach, the Oops pattern, the volatility breakout and the criticism.
- Meet the Prince of the Pit
Richard Dennis: The Prince of the Pit and the Turtle Traders
Richard Dennis from $400 to a fortune, the Turtle experiment, his losses in 1987 and 1988 and what is really documented.
- Learn the Turtle rules
Turtle Trading: The Original Rules of Richard Dennis
The key original Turtle trading rules: entries, position size with N, the 2N stop, adding units and the exits.
- Understand the stock contest
US Investing Championship: Rules, Winners and Records
The real-money US Investing Championship: divisions, verification, recent winners and records, with dates.
- Read the classic interviews
Market Wizards: Jack Schwager's Books and Their Lessons
Jack Schwager's Market Wizards books: which traders each one features and the lessons they share.
- Meet the oldest legend
Jesse Livermore: Rules, Books and Lessons of a Legend
Jesse Livermore from his own 1940 book and the 1923 novel about him: rules, bankruptcies and lessons.
- Meet the first Market Wizard
Michael Marcus: How the First Market Wizard Traded
Michael Marcus: from early wipeouts to $80 million on a company account, and the rules he took from it.
- Meet the trend-following pioneer
Ed Seykota: Trend Following Pioneer From Market Wizards
Ed Seykota: early computerized trend following, his risk rules and what Market Wizards documents.
- Learn short-term setups
Linda Raschke: Trading Rules, Setups and Books
Linda Raschke: Holy Grail, Turtle Soup and the 3-10 oscillator, and where her famous 50 rules come from.
- Trade the opening range
Toby Crabel: Opening Range Breakout and His Numbers
Toby Crabel: opening range breakout, short-term price patterns and what is known about his record.
- Understand Buffett's investing approach
Warren Buffett: Portfolio and Investing Strategy
Berkshire's disclosed holdings, Buffett's investment principles and the limits of following a reported portfolio.
- Meet the 1987 crash trader
Paul Tudor Jones: Strategy Behind the 1987 Crash Trade
Paul Tudor Jones: the short before Black Monday, global macro, the 200-day rule, 5 to 1 and what the legend leaves out.
- Learn the SEPA method
Mark Minervini: SEPA, Trend Template and VCP Explained
Mark Minervini: SEPA, the eight Trend Template criteria, the VCP pattern, his risk rules and two contest wins.
- Understand All Weather
Ray Dalio: All Weather, Bridgewater and Lessons for Traders
Ray Dalio: what the All Weather portfolio really is, Bridgewater, his debt warnings and what traders can use.
Related articles
- Trade breakouts
Breakout Trading Strategy: Entries and False Breakouts
How breakouts work, how to filter false ones and where to place the stop, the idea behind the Turtle system.
- Control your risk
Risk Management in Trading: Rules, Math, Psychology
The 1% rule, stops, reward-to-risk and daily loss limits: tools for judging trading results and controlling your own risk.