In 19 75, when he was 26 years old, ray founded a hedge fund called bridgewater and ran it out of his two bedroom apartment. In 19 82, with lobal det crisis brewing, ray confidently predicted that it was only a matter of time before the us stock market cratered. When mexico defaulted, ray thought his prediction was coming true, and he staked his firm on it. He couldn't have been more wrong. I lost my for me, my clients. And i had to let everybody in my company go. But looking back, ray calls it one of the best things that ever happened to him. Why? Because it taught him three invaluable lessons.