Larry Williams

Larry Williams began trading commodities in the 1960s and rapidly established himself as a pioneer in technical market analysis. He invented the Williams %R oscillator in 1973 — a momentum indicator measuring the closing price relative to the high-low range over a specified period, used to identify overbought and oversold conditions. The indicator became one of the most widely used momentum oscillators in technical analysis and is included as a standard tool in virtually every charting software. Williams entered the 1987 Robbins World Cup Championship of Futures Trading — a competition where participants trade futures with real money over 12 months — and achieved one of the most extraordinary documented trading performances in history, turning $10,000 into approximately $1.1 million, a return of over 10,000%. His daughter Michelle Williams later won the same competition, demonstrating that his approach could be successfully transmitted. Williams has written numerous books on short-term trading strategies including "Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading" and "How to Profit in the Stock Market." He has also contributed research on seasonal commodity patterns and market timing. He continues to run educational programs and trade his own accounts.