According to the New York Times, billionaire Ray Dalio, founder of the hedge fund Bridgewater Associates, will receive billions of dollars in exchange for his retirement from the company.
This comes after “more than six months of frantic behind-the-scenes wrangling,” and after his contentious remarks about China drew attention.
Nir Bar Dea and Mark T. Bertolini took over as co-chief executives of Bridgewater in October, and Dalio stepped down as chairman of the board but retained control of the company.
The report stated that during internal conversations, Dalio, who is estimated to be worth $19 billion, promised to resign in exchange for regular dividends through a unique class of stock, colloquially known as “Ray’s shares,” worth billions of dollars.
According to a number of unnamed current and former Bridgewater employees, the deal resulted from some contentious meetings between Dalio and executives during which he allegedly regarded the hedge fund as his “property rights” and demanded remuneration for it.
In 1975, Dalio started Bridgewater Associates in the living room of his Manhattan apartment. Since then, the hedge fund has expanded to manage $150 billion in assets.
Bridgewater’s Pure Alpha fund generated profits during the first three quarters of 2022, but lost the majority of those profits in the fourth quarter, losing 13%, bringing its year-to-date return as of December to 6%.
