Philanthropy Roundtable Interviews In the latest episode of the Doers to Donors series, Roundtable President and CEO Elise Westhoff interviews entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Ray Dalio. Dalio is the founder, co-chief investment officer and director of Bridgewater Associates, one of the largest hedge funds in the world.
In the interview, Dario talks about starting Bridgewater Associates out of a modest two-bedroom apartment, the principles that drive the business, and how his son Matt influenced the family’s philanthropic efforts. did. Dalio Philanthropies currently supports a variety of causes including education, medical research, mental health, entrepreneurship and ocean exploration.
play a “game”
By his own account, Ray Dalio was not much of a student.
“I didn’t like school, memorizing everything,” he said.
But the golf course was another matter altogether.
At the age of 12, Dario got a job as a caddy at the Links Golf Club, which is within walking distance of his home in Manhasset, Long Island. He said the decision to take the job “dictated the direction” of his life, and provided a referral to a Wall Street expert who taught him about the business of stock trading. I bought my first stock at $5 per share and tripled my capital.
“I was like, ‘I love this game. It’s an easy game,'” Dalio recalls. “Of course it’s not an easy game, but that’s where my journey begins.”
After graduating from Long Island University, then The CW Post, and an MBA from Harvard Business School, Dalio joined a brokerage firm as a commodities director before retiring to start his own firm.
During the conversation, Westhoff asked Dario why he chose to leave the established brokerage firm and go independent.
“I got fired,” Dario replied. “And it was one of the best things that happened to me…because after that I was able to be alone, do what I love, and make my own way.”
leadership principles
Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates in 1975 and enjoyed early success. However, in the early 1980s, he made a controversial market calculation that resulted in huge losses for his clients and himself. In fact, Dario was so poor that he had to borrow his $4,000 from his father to cover his living expenses. But he learned a valuable lesson from this mistake.
“It was very painful … but it gave me the humility I needed to balance my boldness,” Dalio said. “In other words, I started thinking, ‘How do I know I’m right?'”
Dalio realized he needed to learn how to better manage risk when making investment decisions.
“I had to solve the puzzle,” he said. “And it changed my approach. For example, it made me fundamentally open-minded. …I wanted to find the smartest people to disagree with me and understand their thinking It is.”
One of Dalio’s signature principles is “the meritocracy of ideas,” or “a system of gathering smart, independent thinkers to productively disagree in order to come up with the best possible collective thinking.” Creation permeates every aspect of his business. He created his Dot Collector, a tool that enables “radical honesty” during meetings. Dalio believes that the best ideas inevitably come out through radical honesty.
Dario soon discovered every mistake he made, and every puzzle he solved offered an opportunity for “rewards” and principles that could then be applied.
After all, he likes to say, “Pain and reflection equal progress.”
Dario eventually compiled his collection of principles (150 in total) into the New York Times best-selling book, Principles. The book details how Dalio went from bankruptcy to business success and became one of the richest people in the world.
Dalio Philanthropies: Family Events
For another principle, Dario says he learned along the way that community is important in contributing to joy and well-being. Thanks to his son, Matt Dalio, he and his family have found this sense of community through philanthropy.
It all started when Dario and his wife, Barbara Dario, sent 11-year-old Matt to study in China. After returning home, Matt found out that a neighbor was trying to adopt a child from China and offered to help. , found that many were abandoned by parents who could not afford medical bills.
Matt decided to set up China Care, a foundation “to provide orphans with special needs a brighter future.” His focus was on providing life-saving surgery and medical care. Later, he built a network of 50 China Care Clubs across the country and raised funds to improve care in Chinese orphanages.
“That’s where our journey begins,” Dario said simply.
find your charm
Dario, his wife and their children launched a foundation, Dario Philanthropies, to support their philanthropic priorities. Families are encouraged to personally find cause for complaint. According to Dalio, this has given rise to various causes and organizations that have won the favor of the family.
“For me, some of the most important [causes I support involve] I was able to live the American dream, so I seek justice in terms of equal opportunity … but for many people, that’s not the case,” Dalio said.
One of the ways the Dalio family strives to achieve equal opportunity is through activities for students.
“My wife, in particular, is on a path to helping the most disadvantaged students in high school, and I love going with them. [helping] They graduate from high school and get a job,” Dario said.
Dalio Philanthropies beneficiary Connecticut Rise improved on-time graduation rate by 20%.
Meanwhile, Dario Philanthropies established the Dario Center for Health Justice at New York-Presbyterian Hospital to expand access to health care for communities in poor health. Dalio Philanthropies is also a founding member and supporter of Grameen America, an organization that has surpassed the historic milestone of investing her $2 billion in microloans to over 137,000 female entrepreneurs since 2008.
“[Grameen America] Open up great opportunities.some of these [microloan recipients] I’ve become a great entrepreneur,” said Dario.
Another major area of Dalio Philanthropies donations is ocean exploration. Dario developed a passion for scuba at an early age, going on his dives and watching episodes of “The Undersea World of Jacques Cousteau.” Now, through his OceanX initiative, Dario is supporting a modern-day Cousteau to explore “unreachable” parts of the ocean aboard “the most advanced exploration vessel ever built.” increase.
To educate others about ocean exploration, Dario is currently working with acclaimed filmmaker James Cameron on board “the most advanced exploration and media vessel ever built to explore the oceans.” We are developing a TV series that introduces the “most unreachable parts”.
Donation principle
When asked for advice for new philanthropists, Dario offered a simple success principle. This is the same thing that drives his family’s philanthropic efforts.
“It’s a journey. Keep your work and passion the same,” he said. Please pull.Find out more about “Doers to Donors” and the full interview with Ray Dalio here.Apply for roundtable YouTube channel Don’t miss future episodes.
