Richard Dennis
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Richard J. Dennis, a former commodities speculator known as the "Prince of the Pit,"[1] was born in Chicago, in January, 1949. In the early 1970s, he borrowed several thousand dollars and reportedly made $200 million in about ten years. He incurred significant losses in the stock market crash of 1987, and retired from trading for several years.[2] He has been active in Democratic and Libertarian political causes, most notably in campaigns against drug prohibition.[3]
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[edit] Career
He became a Chicago Mercantile Exchange runner at age 17. A few years later, he began trading for his own account from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade Building. To work around a rule against traders under the age of 21, he hired his father to trade for him.
Dennis graduated from DePaul University with a BA in philosophy. He had accepted a scholarship for graduate study in philosophy at Tulane University, before changing his mind and returning to the Chicago Board of Trade.
Much of his early success involved trend following during the "Great Russian Grain Robbery" when the U.S government secretly agreed to sell the Soviet Union grain, thus driving up prices over an extended period.
Dennis believed that successful trading was an activity that could be learned, rather than an innate ability. To settle this dispute with William Eckhardt, a friend and fellow trader, in 1983 Dennis recruited and trained 13 people who became known as the "turtles." The program with the turtles ended in 1988. Many turtles have gone on to successful careers as commodity trading advisors.
Reportedly, these 13 former turtle trader apprentices include Curtis Faith, Russell Sands, Jerry Parker, Liz Cheval, and Paul Rabar.
During the Black Monday stock market crash of 1987, he reportedly lost $10 million[4] and a total of $50 million in 1987-88.[2] In 1990 his firm settled investor complaints for over $2.5 million, without admitting any wrongdoing.[5]
Dennis has published op-ed articles in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, and the Chicago Tribune. He is the president of the Dennis Trading Group Inc. and the vice-chairman of C&D Commodities, a former chairman of the advisory board of the Drug Policy Alliance, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Cato Institute.
[edit] Published works
[edit] See also
- List of personalities associated with Wall Street
[edit] References
- ^ Bauer, Douglas. "Prince of the Pit", The New York Times Magazine, 1976-04-25, p. 200. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ a b Koepp, Stephen. "Special Report: The Crash, One Year Later", Time, 1988-10-17. Retrieved on 2007-02-03.
- ^ Goldberg, Carey. "Wealthy Ally for Dissidents in the Drug War", The New York Times, 1996-09-11. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Flynn, Julia M.. "MARKET TURMOIL; Trader's Survival Lessons", The New York Times, 1987-10-28, p. D 11. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
- ^ Reuters news wire. "Judge Approves Dennis Pact", The New York Times, 1990-11-02. Retrieved on 2007-02-05.
[edit] Further reading
- Schwager, Jack D. (1993). Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders. p. 85: Collins; Reissue edition. ISBN 0-88730-610-1.
- Faith, Curtis M. (2007). Way of the Turtle:The Secret Methods that Turned Ordinary People into Legendary Traders. McGraw-Hill. ISBN 0-07-148664-X.
- Covel, Michael W. (2005). Trend Following. Chapter 2 Section: Financial Times Prentice Hall. ISBN 0-13-134550-8.
- Covel, Michael W. (2007). The Complete TurtleTrader. Book: Collins. ISBN 978-0-06-124170-3.
- Collins, Art. "Interview: Richard Dennis", Stocks & Commodities magazine, April 2005. Retrieved on 2006-09-05.
