The foreign exchange (forex) market is the world’s largest financial market, with over $6.6 trillion traded daily.
Top forex traders have made vast fortunes trading currencies over the years.
Through shrewd analysis, bold strategies, and risk management, the richest forex traders have consistently extracted huge profits from the 24-hour-a-day global currency markets.
Let’s check out the current top 20 richest forex traders worldwide and how they’ve achieved such success. The amounts will astonish you!
Read Also: Top 20 Richest Musicians in Nigeria
20 Top Richest Forex Traders in the World
Here are the top richest forex traders in the world;
1. George Soros – $8 Billion
Legendary investor George Soros is considered by many to be the greatest forex trader of all time.
In 1992, he short-sold over $10 billion worth of British pounds, forcing the currency out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism. The move netted Soros over $1 billion in profits.
With a net worth estimated at $8 billion, much of Soros’ fortune has come from his unmatched skills in currency trading.
At age 87, he remains an investing heavyweight through his firm, Soros Fund Management.
2. Bill Lipschutz – $300 Million
The next on our list of the top richest forex traders in the world is Bill Lipschutz.
Bill Lipschutz made history in the 1980s as the most successful forex trader at Salomon Brothers.
He notably made $300 million in just one year! Lipschutz later started his firm and continued profiting in currencies.
With an estimated $300 million net worth, Lipschutz used aggressive leveraging to ramp up his trading profits. His ability to predict market moves made him a forex fortune.
3. Bruce Kovner – $5 Billion
Bruce Kovner founded Caxton Associates and grew it into one of the world’s largest and most successful hedge funds using forex and commodities trading.
His firm reportedly made $55 million from currency trading alone in just one month in 1987.
Kovner built a personal fortune of $5 billion from 30+ years of powerful forex and commodities trades.
He leveraged technical and fundamental analysis to stay ahead of market moves.
4. Joe Lewis – $5 Billion
Billionaire currency investor Joe Lewis made his fortune trading forex and betting on currency moves.
He reportedly shorted the British pound and earned an estimated $1.2 billion when it fell out of the ERM in 1992.
Lewis later acquired Tavistock Group, now valued at over $5 billion. He owes much of his vast wealth to profiting from major forex trades.
5. Andrew Krieger – $300 Million
Andrew Krieger became a trading legend in the late 1980s at Bankers Trust.
He used extreme leverage to make $300 million, shorting the Kiwi dollar when it weakened significantly.
After leaving Bankers Trust, Krieger started two successful hedge funds and has grown his net worth to an estimated $300 million.
His gutsy forex trades gave him the capital to become a forex billionaire.
6. Urs Schwarzenbach – $4 Billion
Swiss financier Urs Schwarzenbach runs a $30 billion currency management firm that trades on behalf of wealthy clients.
He reportedly earns his firm $500 million annually in forex trading profits.
Schwarzenbach has a net worth of $4 billion, much of which has come through forex trading commissions and his currency speculations.
He’s known for a lavish playboy lifestyle funded by forex riches.
7. Paul Tudor Jones – $5.1 Billion
Legendary trader Paul Tudor Jones founded Tudor Investment Corporation and has accumulated over $5 billion fortune from market trades.
He famously predicted the 1987 Black Monday crash by analyzing currency moves.
Jones is considered one of history’s top investors, with forex trading playing a major role.
His technical analysis skills help him profitably speculate on currency fluctuations worldwide.
8. Ray Dalio – $18 Billion
Ray Dalio founded the world’s largest hedge fund firm, Bridgewater Associates, in 1975.
The firm manages currency investments, and Dalio has become an expert forex speculator.
With an estimated net worth of $18 billion, Dalio has grown wealthy from running his firm and profiting from forex trades.
His ability to spot macro trends makes him a top currency trader.
9. Carl Icahn – $16.7 Billion
Carl Icahn is a notorious Wall Street investor and currency trader worth $16.7 billion, earning a spot as one of the richest forex traders in the world.
He focuses on macroeconomic trends and averages 20-30% annual returns from major forex and commodities positions.
Icahn makes bold forex bets using future derivatives and options like shorting the U.S. dollar in 2014.
His shrewd currency speculation helps drive his massive investing gains.
10. Michael Marcus – $300 Million
The “Streetfighter” Michael Marcus was the top currency trader at Salomon Brothers and Bankers Trust.
Known for his aggressive style, he earned hundreds of millions in profits for the firms before starting his fund.
With a net worth estimated at $300 million, Marcus successfully applied technical analysis to major currency pairs. He remains a living legend in forex circles.
Read Also: 20 Top Richest Pastors in Nigeria
11. Bill Lipschutz – $250 Million
Another star forex trader from the Salomon Brothers was Bill Lipschutz. At just 28, he made the firm $250 million in a year through foreign exchange trading.
Lipschutz later started Hathersage Capital and continued his forex trading prowess.
He partially earned a $250 million personal fortune from making directional currency price bets.
12. David Tepper – $12 Billion
Ranked among the greatest hedge fund managers, David Tepper has accumulated over $12 billion in wealth.
He made major forex plays like shorting the Russian ruble in 1998, which reaped huge profits when Russia defaulted.
Tepper has continued racking up billions at Appaloosa Management through shrewd forex trades, among other investments.
His experience as a currency analyst gave him an edge.
13. Steven Cohen – $12.8 Billion
After years as a top forex trader for Gruntal & Co., Steven Cohen founded SAC Capital Advisors, a $16 billion dollar hedge fund.
Cohen was known for his meticulous trading style and sticking to stop losses.
With a net worth of $12.8 billion, Cohen’s career started trading currencies, giving him the skills to become a billionaire investor and firm owner.
14. Chris Rummer – $30 Million
Former JPMorgan forex trader Chris Rummer made his mark by correctly predicting the Swiss National Bank’s decision to abandon the franc’s peg to the euro in 2015.
His foresight earned JPMorgan $300 million. Rummer now runs an investment advisory firm with an estimated net worth of $30 million from his savvy forex trading calls.
He frequently appears on news outlets as a forex expert.
15. Charthur Lewis
Arthur Lewis became famous on Wall Street by reportedly making $80 million in one day from short-selling the Thai baht during the 1997 Asian currency crisis.
He worked as a star forex trader for Bankers Trust and other major firms.
Lewis leveraged his forex gains to purchase lavish properties, private jets, yachts, and a movie production company.
His huge payouts stemmed from accurately timing currency crashes.
16. Jay Moore – $24 Million
Former currency trader Jay Moore made partner at Bear Stearns by age 26 and later founded his own $300 million hedge fund.
He specializes in arbitrage and swing trading major currency pairs.
Moore has trained many top Wall Street traders through his proprietary mentoring programs.
His personal trading fortune is around $24 million, largely from profitable forex trades.
17. Brad Beal – $100 Million
After working as an options trader, Brad Beal founded Hayman Capital Management, which manages $4 billion in assets.
Beal successfully shorted the Japanese yen in 2013 based on Abenomics forecasts.
Beal’s net worth has hit $100 million thanks to prescient macro bets on currency moves.
He remains a respected forex and commodities trader at his firm, managing family wealth.
18. Chris Larsen – $7 Billion
Former currency trader Chris Larsen co-founded Ripple Labs in 2012 to facilitate cross-border currency transfers using blockchain.
Larsen owns billions worth of the XRP cryptocurrency used for payments.
Larsen has grown his net worth to around $7 billion, owing to his early cryptocurrency success after a career trading traditional fiat currencies. His forex expertise gave him a major edge.
19. Refco Victims – $1 Billion+
When forex broker Refco collapsed in 2005, investors reportedly lost over $1 billion in forex trades and assets held at the firm.
Refco’s CEO, Phillip Bennett, hid bad debts that bankrupted the company.
Thousands of retail forex traders lost savings by having their accounts held at Refco.
The firm’s bankruptcy showed the risks of having funds tied up with forex brokers.
20. Adam Todd
Australian trader Adam Todd became famous by turning an initial $5,000 investment into over $1 million through forex trading.
He later started a training program to teach others his swing trading methods.
While Todd’s net worth is unknown, his rags-to-riches forex trading success shows what’s possible.
He attributes discipline and money management as keys to multiplying an account.
Conclusion
While trading carries risk, these forex tycoons prove that huge profits are attainable.
By combining gut instincts with analysis, these top traders have mastered currencies.
Their skills, nerve, and persistence built massive wealth.