Yahoo Finance Jim Simons, Billionaire Philanthropist, Mathematician and Investor, Dead at 86: 'An Exceptional Leader'
Many considered him “a legend in quantitative investing,” according to his foundation
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Jim Simons, billionaire and hedge fund manager, who died on May 10, 2024Jim Simons, a billionaire philanthropist described as one of the most successful hedge fund managers in U.S. history, has died. He was 86.
Simons died Friday, May 10, in New York City, according to a statement shared on The Simons Foundation’s website.
He was “an award-winning mathematician” who many considered “a legend in quantitative investing,” the foundation said.
His net worth was about $34.1 billion at the time of his death, according to Forbes.
“Jim was an exceptional leader who did transformative work in mathematics and developed a world-leading investment company,” Simons Foundation President David Spergel said in the foundation’s statement.
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Jim Simons, billionaire and hedge fund manager, who died on May 10, 2024Simons was a graduate of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, where he received a bachelor’s degree in mathematics in 1958, according to CNBC. By age 23, he had received his doctorate in mathematics from the University of California at Berkeley.
He went on to chair the math department at Stony Brook University in New York, where his mathematical breakthroughs “are now instrumental to fields such as string theory, topology and condensed matter physics,” according to his foundation.
In 1978, Simons founded what would become the Renaissance Technologies hedge fund, which was a trailblazer for quantitative trading and eventually “became one of the most profitable investment firms in history.”
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JP Morgan currently estimates quant funds currently make up more than 20% of all equity assets, CNBC reported.
In 1994, The Simons Foundation was established to support scientists and organizations worldwide “in advancing the frontiers of research in mathematics and the basic sciences.”
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Jim Simons, billionaire and hedge fund manager, who died on May 10, 2024Over the years, Simons and his wife, Marilyn, have given “billions of dollars to hundreds of philanthropic causes, particularly those supporting math and science research and education,” per the foundation.
Those who knew Simons also “fondly recall his genuine curiosity and quick wit,” the foundation said.
His other philanthropic efforts include Simons Foundation International, Math for America and more.
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“Jim was active in the work of the Simons Foundation until the end of his life,” the foundation said, “and his curiosity and lifelong passion for math and basic science were an inspiration to those around him.”
Jim is survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren, a great-grandchild and many colleagues, friends and family, according to the foundation’s statement.
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