Billionaire hedge fund founder Jim Simons passes away at the age of 86

Jim Simons, the renowned quantitative hedge fund manager and mathematician, has died aged 86, according to a statement from his family foundation.

Simon managed the mathematics department, at Stony Brook University following his service as a codebreaker, for the US National Security Agency during the mid 1960s.

Renaissance Technologies hedge fund founder Simons pioneered quantitative investing, which uses mathematical and statistical models to find investment possibilities. Simons later became a political donor and philanthropist.

Simons switched from teaching math and working in U.S. intelligence to investing 60 years ago. His pioneering use of computer signals for trading earned him the nickname "Quant King."

Simons built a multibillion-dollar hedge fund with computer models.

Later in life, Simons focused on charity and became a significant Democratic political donor.

According to the Simons Foundation, last year, they made a donation of $500 million to Stony Brook's endowment, marking the largest unrestricted gift to an American university in history.

According to his foundation, Simons is survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren, and one great-grandchild.

At a 2022 Abel Prize events, Simons said, “I did a lot of math, I made a lot of money, and I gave almost all of it away.”