Jim Simons (mathematician)
James Harris Simons (born 25 April 1938) is an American hedge fund manager, investor, mathematician, and philanthropist. He is the founder of Renaissance Technologies, a quantitative hedge fund based in East Setauket, New York. He and his fund are known to be quantitative investors, using mathematical models and algorithms to make investment gains from market inefficiencies. Due to the long-term aggregate investment returns of Renaissance and its Medallion Fund, Simons is described as the "greatest investor on Wall Street", and more specifically "the most successful hedge fund manager of all time".
James Simons | |
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Simons in 2007 | |
| Born | April 25, 1938 Newton, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Education | Massachusetts Institute of Technology (BS) University of California, Berkeley (MS, PhD) |
| Occupation(s) | Hedge fund manager, investor, mathematician, philanthropist, financial analyst |
| Known for | Founding and managing Renaissance Technologies Simons formula Chern–Simons form |
| Spouses | |
| Children | 5, including Nat |
| Awards | Oswald Veblen Prize (1976) |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | Cryptography, investing, quantitative analysis |
| Thesis | On the Transitivity of Holonomy Systems (1962) |
| Doctoral advisor | Bertram Kostant |
| Doctoral students | Jeff Cheeger |
As reported by Bloomberg Billionaires Index in 2023, Simons's net worth is estimated to be $29.4 billion, making him the 52nd-richest person in the world.
Simons is known for his studies on pattern recognition. He developed the Chern–Simons form (with Shiing-Shen Chern), and contributed to the development of string theory by providing a theoretical framework to combine geometry and topology with quantum field theory.
In 1994, Simons and his wife, Marilyn, founded the Simons Foundation to support research in mathematics and fundamental sciences. The foundation is the top benefactor of Stony Brook University, Marilyn's alma mater, and is a major contributor to his alma maters, the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and the University of California, Berkeley. Simons is a member of the boards of the Stony Brook Foundation, the MIT Corporation, and the Simons Laufer Mathematical Sciences Institute in Berkeley as well as chair of boards of Math for America, the Simons Foundation, and Renaissance Technologies.
In 2016, asteroid 6618 Jimsimons, discovered by Clyde Tombaugh in 1936, was named after Simons by the International Astronomical Union in honor of his contributions to mathematics and philanthropy.