James Simons is ranked #49 on Forbes List of Billionaires.

James is also #1 in the category of “Highest-Earning Hedge Fund Managers”

So what is his secret of untold wealth accumulation?

Predictive signals.

Yeah, right, so how’s that going to help me be rich?

It’s not.

He had this to say about it during a speech at MIT:

“In the beginning of his speech, Simons relays an anecdote that later becomes very funny.

He says, "I went to the institute for Defense Analysis in Princeton University, where they did secret government work and paid quite a lot and you could spend half of your time doing your own mathematics and half of your time doing their work, whatever their work was. [He pauses] It involved computers... Well, it was secret, I don't want to talk about it."

Then he begins speaking about his firm. He says people ask him, what's the secret?

Simons says, "Of course I'm not going to tell you the various predictive signals --Unless... No, I'm definitely not. [Laughter erupts] That's even bigger secrets than those at, down there [the Defense Analysis at Princeton]."”

So really, he isn’t going to tell us how he did it specifically.

What’s the point then?

James used the complex math to break codes which could help explain patterns in the world of finance. Billions later, he’s working to support the next generation of math teachers and scholars.

The Mathematician Who Cracked Wall Street

The reason I bring up James, besides being interesting, is that he is faced with a question that we all must consider.

Each day I work, I do it with the understanding that I will get paid.

Sometimes I do other types of work on my own and hope to get paid.

Why do I even care about money?

Well besides needing it to pay for basic necessities and frivolous wants and other perks, I have to earn money to pay back money I’ve borrowed.

These debt obligations take many forms; mortgage, car loans, school loans, personal loans, and credit cards.

The more money I am able to earn, then the sooner I can pay off these debts.

Then what?

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For a long time being debt free was a goal in my life, until it wasn’t.

The deal is once I get out of debt, then what am I going to do all day?

I am still going to have to work to pay for basic life necessities.

I am still going to want frivolous things and other perks.

So what’s the deal, can I just go on vacation all day and do whatever else I want?

No.

That being said, what if I do hit it big on cryptocurrency?

I would need to find something to do with my life and ways to manage the funds well and hopefully grow them and use them wisely.

What is Jim Simons doing with his billions?

Jim and his wife Marilyn founded the Simons Foundation in 1994, a charitable organization that supports projects related to education and health, in addition to scientific research.

And that is just part of what he has done to help.