Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
The Jane Street trading plan wasn’t all that complicated. They’d get the voting results before everyone else, that data would shift the odds of the election in one direction or the other, and they’d buy or sell both US and emerging market stocks in response.
Michael Lewis • Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
A year into his new life in the Bahamas, Nishad Singh had stepped onto that beach just once, and then only because some relatives were visiting. That was once more than Sam, and likely Gary too.
Michael Lewis • Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
To put it another way: people misread him, decided that he couldn’t be trusted, and then refused to change their minds about him. He needed to do a better job of helping others to solve the puzzle.
Michael Lewis • Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
Three hours later he returned to find that the markets had changed their minds about the likely effects of Donald Trump on the world’s stock markets. “It was supposed to be Armageddon,” said Sam. “And maybe it was. But it wasn’t Armageddon for US markets.” Markets in the United States actually had rallied, and most of the Jane Street bet was
... See moreMichael Lewis • Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
Some highlights have been hidden or truncated due to export limits.
Michael Lewis • Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
When Sam saw the response to the Forbes billionaires list, and the Forbes cover that followed, any doubts he had about the value of public relations evaporated. Natalie’s job became both simpler and more complicated. Simpler, because basically everyone now wanted to talk to Sam, and Sam was game to talk to anyone—so long as he could play a video
... See moreMichael Lewis • Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
Of course, winning one out of five congressional races meant you lost the other four. Sam’s political portfolio resembled his venture capital portfolio: in pursuit of crazy rewards, it took what, after the fact, looked like insane risks. In a very short time, Sam’s money had bankrolled some of the most spectacular failures in the history of
... See moreMichael Lewis • Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
with biological risk, even if it gets really bad, I dunno, it doesn’t have the intelligence to weed out the stragglers the way AI could.”
Michael Lewis • Going Infinite: The Rise and Fall of a New Tycoon
By high school Sam had decided that he just didn’t like school, which was odd for a person who would finish at the top of his class. He’d also decided that at least some of the fault lay not with him but with school.