Who is the most impressive HF founder you know? and why ?

Definitely Ray Dalio, he founded the largest HF, and I just appreciate the culture he's developed at Bridgewater. Also Bill Ackman for having the guts to launch Pershing straight out of Harvard

Definitely Bill Ackman even with his recent streak

Edit: Monkey shit? Impressive that someone is THAT passionate about who my favorite Hedge Fund manager is to get upset about it. Gotta love WSO

He launched his first fund, Gotham, out of HBS. Pershing was "Act II."

James Simons - Rennaissance Technologies why: read his story, this guy is leaving something after his death..

James Simons because he created the most mysterious and successful hedge fund ever. Also, the guy himself is a literal genius, along with the people he 'invites' to join renaissance.

Soros. The longevity, the fact that his fund is discretionary, that his bad years are better than just about anyone else's (and he hasn't had many of those), that he's the richest HF manager ever...

John Meriwether for sheer balls. The guy has the most famous blow up in hedge fund history and opens another fund doing almost exactly the same thing within a year of the collapse. This isn't exactly the kind of guy I'd want to give money to, but you have to respect his stones.

Not to mention he took preftige to a whole new level with Nobel prize winners on the team.

David Shaw. His fund has been a big contributor to the quant world since inception (in research, strategy, talent... Jeff Bezos was employed there before founding Amazon), on top of an impressive track record. Honorable mention goes to Julian Robertson for his Tigers and successful global macro strategy over the years (with some exceptions).

If you haven't already, I suggest reading "More Money Than God" by Sebastian Mallaby. Its a comprehensive, easy-to-read book on the history of hedge funds. Each era is illustrated through the life and achievements of a great fund manager.

Carl Icahn. Makes Gordon Gekko look like a pussy cat.

Ray Dalio by a landslide. He was a pioneer in portable alpha (separation of beta and alpha), risk parity and the institutionalization of the hedge fund industry. He founded a firm with a radical and unique culture that produces the best macro research in the world - and very respectable returns.

David Shaw and George Soros for honorable mention.

As an aside, it took no balls for Ackman to launch Pershing. He came from a rich, connected New York family... that's a big leg up compared to the humble beginnings of other hedge fund greats (again - see Dalio). And John Meriweather's a charlatan - his funds have failed 3 times.

Alfred Winslow Jones. The industry would not exist if it were not for him.

Martin Shkreli...for his exquisite taste in random hip hop albums

Robertson. Dude groomed generations of star PMs

Can't believe I forgot this one but Bruce Kovner. Soros may have pioneered the macro long-short approach and traded currencies early on, but Michael Marcus and Bruce Kovner arguably did more to set up the groundwork for the modern-day go anywhere (with derivatives) macro fund.

Kovner is the first one to take the Commodities Corp model to the big leagues and there's plenty of little stories like him buying a tanker during the 80s oil bust which show how much of a pioneer he was. The current middling results of Caxton, Tudor, Moore and Brevan Howard show that there might be limits to that model but man did that model make a lot of people rich over the last 30 years.

No love for Ken Griffin? The dude's an animal

I'm skeptical all of these replies involve personally knowing the people mentioned. I've met a lot of HF founders but would say I only really know the ones that sign my paychecks.