Michael Steinhardt
Michael H. Steinhardt (born December 7, 1940) is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. In 1967, he founded a hedge fund, Steinhardt Partners, that averaged an annualized return for its clients of 24.5% from 1967 to 1978. In 1995, he closed his fund stating, “I thought there must be something more virtuous, more ennobling to do with one’s life than make rich people richer,” before making a 2004 comeback to head WisdomTree Investments, a fund with nearly $43 billion USD in assets under management.
In a January 2014 article by Bloomberg, he was referred to as “Wall Street’s greatest trader.” Forbes Magazine reported his net worth at $1.05 billion as of February 2017.
Early life and education
Born to an American Jewish family, Steinhardt is the son of Sol Frank Steinhardt, a compulsive high-stakes gambler, New York’s leading jewel fence (according to then-DA Frank Hogan), and convicted felon. His father was close friends with underworld crime bosses Meyer Lansky, Vincent Alo (aka “Jimmy Blue Eyes” Alo), and Albert Anastasia (he was out gambling with Anastasia the night before he was killed). Sol, aka “Red McGee,” was later convicted on charges of buying and selling stolen jewelry and sentenced to five to ten years in prison.
Steinhardt went to the University of Pennsylvania, graduating in 1960. He started his career working for the mutual fund Calvin Bullock and the brokerage firm Loeb, Rhoades & Co. (the precursor to Shearson Loeb Rhoades). Steinhardt’s father was his first investment client giving his son envelopes stuffed with cash to put in the stock market giving him seed money to begin his investment career.
Summary
| Michael Steinhardt | |
|---|---|
| Born | December 7, 1940 New York City, New York,U.S. |
| Alma mater | University of Pennsylvania |
| Occupation | Investor, hedge fund manager, philanthropist |
| Years active | 1967 – present |
| Known for | Leadership of Steinhardt Partners and Wisdom Tree Investments,
realizing a multi-year return on investment of 24.5% |
| Net worth | US$1.05 billion (February 2017) |
Michael Steinhardt
Michael Steinhardt Net Worth: Michael Steinhardt is an American hedge fund manager, investor, publisher, and philanthropist who has a net worth of $1.2 billion dollars. Born in Brooklyn, New York, in 1940, Michael Steinhardt graduated from the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School before founding Steinhardt, Fine, Berkowitz & Co. in 1967. It made him one of the country’s most well known hedge fund managers. That group, later named Steinhardt Partners, averaged a 24.5% annualized return rate for clients. In the early ’90s, the company came under federal investigation over accusations the firm attempted to manipulate the short-term Treasury Note market. Steinhardt Partners was subject to a $70 million fine; Steinhardt paid 75% of the fee, though never admitted to wrongdoing. At the end of 1995, the hedge fund shut down, and Steinhardt went into retirement for nearly a decade. In 2004, he took a job with Index Development Partners, Inc., which soon became WisdomTree Investments, where Steinhardt is now chairman. He is an active philanthropist for predominantly Jewish causes, including Taglit-Birthright Israel, New York University’s Steinhardt School of Culture, Education and Human Development, and the American Hebrew Academy. His autobiography, “No Bull: My Life in and out of Markets”, published in 2001. The antique arts collector has three children with his wife, Judy.