Topic
21 facts from 3 episodes, in date order. These are what speakers said on the shows, each linked to the moment it was said. They aren't independently verified.
1960s
New York Governor Nelson Rockefeller launched a $100 million campaign to turn Stony Brook into a mathematical powerhouse, and Simons chaired its math department.
“Nelson Rockefeller, who was then the governor of New York, had launched a campaign, a hundred million dollar campaign to try and turn this Long Island campus of the State University of New York into a mathematical powerhouse”
1967
Jim Simons was fired from the Institute for Defense Analyses in 1967 after publicly opposing the Vietnam War.
“Jim gets fired in 1967. Even though he's a star codebreaker, he made supposedly huge contributions to the group, which are still classified.”
1978
Jim Simons left academia in 1978 to trade full time.
“And in 1978, he leaves to focus full time on trading, which is a huge shock to the academic community.”
1978
Simons' trading firm Monometrics started with a little less than $4 million in capital, partly from the sale of the Colombian flooring company.
“I think together with Jim, his partners, and whatever money Lenny put in, they had a little less than $4 million in this initial capital.”
1978
In 1978 Jim Simons left academia to start an investment firm focused on currency trading.
“Simons leaves academia to start his own investment firm focusing on currency trading”
1979
Simons tried to raise $4 million from outside investors for his first fund but fell slightly short.
“He tries to raise 4 million, falls slightly short of that.”
1979
Simons and his partner Leonard Baum earned more than $43 million in profits between July 1979 and March 1982.
“They were able to rack up more than 43 million in profits between July 1979 and March 1982.”
1982
Jim Simons wound down Monometrics in 1982 and co-founded Renaissance Technologies with Howard Morgan.
“in 1982, Jim actually winds down Monometrics and he and Howard co-found a new firm together.”
1984
In 1984, a 40% fall in the value of Leonard Baum's positions triggered a clause that forced Simons to sell Baum's holdings and end their trading affiliation.
“When the value of their positions had plummeted 40%, it triggered an automatic clause in the agreement with Simons, forcing Simons to sell all of Baum's holdings”
1985
In 1985 Simons's firm bought a refrigerator-sized mini computer that was delivered by forklift and could store 900 megabytes of data.
“It had to be put into their office by forklift. It was capable of storing 900 megabytes of data.”
1993
Jim Simons closed Medallion to new investors at the end of 1993.
“At the end of 1993, Simons decides to close the fund and not allow new LPs in.”
2003
Simons worried Medallion's performance would fade if it grew too large and preferred that he and his employees keep all the gains.
“Simons had worried that performance would ebb if Medallion grew too big, and he preferred that he and his employees keep all the gains.”
2010
Jim Simons retired at the end of 2009, and Peter Brown and Bob Mercer became co-CEOs of Renaissance in 2010.
“Jim retires at the end of 2009, and Peter and Bob become co-CEOs, co-heads of the firm in 2010.”
2017
Jim Simons asked Bob Mercer to step down as co-CEO of Renaissance in 2017, after controversy over Mercer's political activity.
“Ultimately, Jim asked Bob to step down as co-CEO in 2017, which he did.”
2020
In 2020 Jim Simons published a list of five guiding principles for his career.
“And then in 2020, he published his five guiding principles, which I think are excellent.”
2021
Jim Simons personally paid $670 million in back taxes over Medallion's basket option strategy.
“he paid $670 million to the IRS in back taxes for this basket option strategy that turned out not to be a long-term capital gain.”
Undated
Jim Simons staffed his firm with mathematicians, physicists and computer scientists, working from an office in a Long Island strip mall.
“Working from a ramshackle office in a Long Island strip mall, Simons hired mathematicians, physicists, and computer scientists”
Undated
Jim Simons says he was fired from the Institute for Defense Analyses five minutes after his boss learned of his Newsweek interview opposing the Vietnam War.
“Once his boss found out about this interview that he gave, Jim says, I was fired five minutes later.”
Undated
Stony Brook University hired Jim Simons at age thirty to build a world-class mathematics department.
“Stony Brook University is trying to build a world class math department. So they hired Jim at thirty to build.”
Undated
Simons's team later found weekly stock trading data going back as far as the 1800s.
“Some of the weekly stock trading data they later find went back as far as the eighteen hundreds”
Undated
David Senra first learned of Jim Simons's practice of lying still in a dark, quiet place to think from the biography The Man Who Solved the Market.
“The very first time I heard about that, I read it in this book called A Man Who Solved the Market, which was a biography of Jim Simons.”
Episodes