Stanley Druckenmiller

Born in 1953 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Druckenmiller studied economics and English at Bowdoin College before dropping out of a PhD program at the University of Michigan to work at Pittsburgh National Bank. He founded Duquesne Capital Management in 1981 at age 28. From 1981 to 2010, Druckenmiller managed Duquesne Capital and generated annual returns averaging approximately 30% without a single losing year — a record widely considered unmatched in the hedge fund industry. He achieved this through concentrated macro positions in currencies, interest rates, equities, and commodities, typically making large asymmetric bets when his conviction was highest. In 1988, George Soros hired Druckenmiller as the lead portfolio manager of the Quantum Fund. Together, they executed the famous sterling short in September 1992, with Druckenmiller having identified the trade and Soros persuading him to increase the position size from $1.5 billion to $10 billion. Druckenmiller has credited Soros for teaching him the importance of position sizing when you have conviction. Druckenmiller closed Duquesne Capital to outside investors in August 2010, citing investor pressure and a desire to manage his own capital. He converted the firm into the Duquesne Family Office. Even managing his own money, he has continued to generate strong returns and has become increasingly vocal about macroeconomic risks including US fiscal sustainability and inflation. He has been a major philanthropist, with a focus on education reform and poverty alleviation. He sold his Greenwich, Connecticut estate to donate more capital to charitable causes.