Paulson is one of the most successful hedge fund managers in history. He made his fortune by making intelligent investments and later using them to make even more. On top of that, he also became one of the most famous billionaires in the world.
He started his career at Goldman Sachs as an analyst and quickly moved up the ranks until he ran Goldman’s alternative investments division. He left to start his hedge fund, which eventually became his vast empire with billions in assets. John has been a part of some huge events such as Black Monday and Brexit, but no matter what happens in the future, it seems likely that John Paulson will end up being one of the most well-known hedge fund managers ever.
For now, though, let’s focus on how he made so much money over such a long period. And so, without further ado, let’s look at the life and career of the legendary John Paulson.
He was raised in an upper-middle-class family; his father worked for a law firm, and his mother stayed home. As a child, it was clear that John had a good head on his shoulders as he managed to get excellent grades throughout his school years. He attended Hicksville High School, where he graduated in 1972. During that time, he played varsity soccer and earned the nickname ‘Juke’ because of his speed when running down the field. John Paulson was going to attend Brown University, but he was accepted into Harvard Business School. At the time, he was a young man with lots of ideas and did not feel the need for full-time employment, instead choosing to stay in school even further. After graduating from Harvard in 1977, John Paulson moved to San Francisco. He started working at Salomon Brothers, where he began as an underwritings analyst before moving on to work in their options department. After a few years there, he left Salomon Brothers for a job at Drexel Burnham Lambert (DBL), an investment bank now part of Morgan Stanley.