William Gross
World’s biggest bond trader got start gambling. Arranged gambling pools while studying at Duke; spent a summer working the slots at Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe. Vegas stint playing blackjack turned $200 into $10,000 in just 4 months. Vietnam vet; earned M.B.A. from UCLA. Took job as a securities analyst at Pacific Life. Discovered key to making money with bonds: trade, don’t buy and hold. Given $10 million portfolio to manage in 1973; already earning $20 million bonuses by the 1980s. Bond division spun off to create Pimco; public offering in 1994. Netted personal $400 million in 2000 sale to German insurance goliath Allianz AG for $4.7 billion. Believes economy heading downward, unsure of how bad the damage will be: “You don’t know where the trouble is, or what it’s going to morph into.” Stamp collector sold British stamp hoard for $9.1 million this June to benefit Doctors Without Borders.