Louis Moore Bacon is an American global macro trader and hedge fund manager. In 1990, he founded Moore Capital Management with a $25,000 inheritance from his mother. In 2017, Forbes estimated his net worth at $1.81 billion, ranking him as the 374th richest person on the Forbes 400 list at the time.

 

Louis Bacon's Background

 

Born in 1956, Louis Moore Bacon is a legendary American hedge fund manager and global macro trader, renowned for turning a $25,000 inheritance into billions through savvy geopolitical forecasting and disciplined trading. As founder of Moore Capital Management, he became one of the most respected names in macro investing.

• From North Carolina to Wall Street: Bacon started trading soybean futures early and studied finance at Columbia Business School.

• Mentored by Paul Tudor Jones: Gained macro experience working at Tudor Investment Corp.

• Moore Capital’s Launch: Founded in 1990 with $25K from his mother—grew it into a multi-billion-dollar powerhouse.

 

Luis Bacon's Methods: Macro and Risk Control

• Geopolitical Anticipation:

  • Profited from the 1990 Gulf War by trading oil and currencies.

  • Predicted and shorted vulnerable currencies during the 1997 Asian crisis.

• Fundamentals + Technicals:

  • Combined data with market intuition—“Markets are never wrong—opinions often are.”

  • Took directional bets but avoided excessive leverage.

• Risk Management Focus:

  • Cut losers quickly, rode winners patiently.

  • Known for tight drawdown control and capital preservation.

Performance:

• 1990s Outperformance: Delivered 30%+ annualized returns in early years.

• 2008 Crisis: Made over $1.5B navigating the collapse by shorting financials.

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Louis Bacon's Trading Tips

 

■ Embrace disorder and chaos

As a speculator, you must embrace disorder and chaos.

 

■ Managing large assets is difficult

The ability to manage large assets well - it's like being Michael Jordan or winning the gold in the Olympics; it's what you aspire to.

 

■ Reasoning alone does not make a conclusion certain

Reasoning draws a conclusion but does not make the conclusion certain unless the mind discovers it by the path of experience.

 

■ The importance of mathematics

All science requires mathematics. The knowledge of mathematical things is almost innate in us. This is the easiest of sciences, a fact which is obvious in that no one's brain rejects it; for laymen and people who are utterly illiterate know how to count and reckon.

-For the things of this world cannot be made known without a knowledge of mathematics.

 

■ Experimental science

Experimental science is the queen of sciences and the goal of all speculation.

 

■ Argument  does not remove doubt

Argument is conclusive, but it does not remove doubt, so that the mind may rest in the sure knowledge of the truth unless it finds it by the method of experiment.

 

■ Keep it always simple

It must be a balance in everything we do, not too much of everything, keep it simple, not complicated.

 

■ Bacon wrote to his investors in a letter

Intense competition for trading talent coupled with client pressure on fees has led to a challenging business model for multi-manager funds such as ours.

 

■ Recognition cannot be a cause to rest

Much like the conservationists who previously received the Audubon Medal, including Stewart Udall, Rachel Carson, and Ted Turner, I realize that this recognition cannot be a cause to rest, but a spur to continue our work.

 

 

■ Louis Bacon (Macro Trader)

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