The world of finance and philanthropy is mourning the loss of billionaire quant investing pioneer and philanthropist James Simons, who passed away at the age of 86. Simons was a trailblazer in the field of quantitative investing, using mathematical algorithms to analyze and predict market trends. His hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies, became one of the most successful in history, earning him a fortune estimated at over $23 billion.
But Simons was not content to simply amass wealth. He was also a dedicated philanthropist, donating millions to scientific research, education, and healthcare initiatives. His contributions have had a lasting impact on countless lives around the world.
The Simons Foundation did not give a cause of death.
Sixty years ago Simons -- who preferred to be known as Jim -- shifted course from teaching mathematics and working in U.S. intelligence to investing. His pioneering use of computer signals for trading decisions earned him the nickname "Quant King."
Simons was born in 1938 and earned his bachelor’s degree in mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in 1958 and then went on to a Ph.D at the University of California, Berkeley. Early in his career, Simons served as a code breaker for the U.S. government.
Simons used math, quantitative analysis and data to analyze and find patterns around price changes, pioneering a segment of investing. Renaissance, to this day, is known for employing mathematicians and scientists.
Renaissance’s success made him one of the wealthiest people in the world, according to surveys such as the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. Simons stepped down as Renaissance’s CEO in 2010.
The quant guru previously chaired the math department at Stony Brook University in New York, and his mathematical breakthroughs are instrumental to fields such as string theory, topology and condensed matter physics, his foundation said.
Simons and his wife established the Simons Foundation in 1994 and have given away billions of dollars to philanthropic causes, including those supporting math and science research.
Last year, Simons’ foundation donated $500 million to Stony Brook’s endowment, the largest unrestricted gift to an American university in history, according to the Simons Foundation.
“I joined Stony Brook University in 1968 as chair of their Department of Mathematics,” Simons said at the time. “I knew then it was a top intellectual center with a serious commitment to research and innovation. But Stony Brook also gave me a chance to lead — and so it has been deeply rewarding to watch the university grow and flourish even more.”
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