Jim Simons: Life Lessons from the ‘World’s Smartest Billionaire’ (#054)

Jun 27, 2020

Jim Simons, a groundbreaking mathematician and hedge fund pioneer, shares his extraordinary life journey. He delves into Chern-Simons theory and discusses leadership lessons inspired by Abraham Lincoln. Simons reflects on discovering Zeno’s paradox at age three and the beauty of mathematics. He also outlines vital investment strategies, focusing on alpha versus beta. Personal anecdotes about fatherhood and mentorship reveal a deep commitment to legacy, emphasizing the importance of curiosity and the pursuit of knowledge.

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INSIGHT

Hire Top Talent And Trust Them

Hire the very best people and then let them do the work without micromanaging.
Jim Simons credits strong hiring and trust as his primary leadership strategy.

ADVICE

Decide Rather Than Dither

Make decisions promptly after consulting, rather than endlessly dithering.
Prefer decisiveness because a wrong decision is better than none.

ADVICE

Pick Which Battles To Lead

Let teams debate matters that matter to them and step in only for truly important issues.
Announce major decisions early and preserve meeting time for other discussions.

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Mathematician, codebreaker, Professor, hedge fund pioneer, & philanthropist Jim Simons makes his first-ever podcast appearance on this episode of INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE with UC San Diego Professor Brian Keating. Learn about Chern-Simons theory, leadership lessons, hedge funds, and a dedication to serve the world through basic research from a master. It is truly a delight to share with you the more personal side of the man who’s been called The World’s Smartest Billionaire: https://youtu.be/gjVDqfUhXOY In this interview, we discuss heroes, fatherhood, leadership and the art of math.

00:15:15 Why he’d invite Abraham Lincoln to dinner.
00:23:42 Discovering Zeno’s paradox at the age of three.
00:34:28 Can math be beautiful?
00:46:25 Lessons from a master investor: alpha vs. beta.
00:56:06 The serendipitous Chern-Simons partnership. 01:03:18 A father’s love.
01:11:09 The legacy of a good example.

Jim Simons earned a Ph.D. in mathematics from UC Berkeley at the age of 23. He worked as a mathematician for the NSA and as a professor and department chair at Stony Brook University. Simons earned billions after founding the hedge fund firm Renaissance Technologies. He co-founded the Simons Foundation with his wife Marilyn in 1994 to advance scientific research. The foundation provided funding for the Simons Observatory, a telescope array being built in the Atacama Desert of Northern Chile https://simonsobservatory.org/ Simons also founded Math For America in 2004 to facilitate better math education.

Watch a TED interview with Jim Simons https://youtu.be/U5kIdtMJGc8
Learn about the Simons Observatory, including the Simons-National Society of Black Physicists Scholars Program (SNSP) https://simonsobservatory.org/snsp.php
Learn more about the Simons Foundation on the web: https://www.simonsfoundation.org
follow them on Twitter: https://twitter.com/SimonsFdn
Please subscribe, rate, and review the INTO THE IMPOSSIBLE Podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/into-the-impossible/id1169885840?mt=2

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