James Harris Simons
Encyclopedia
James Harris "Jim" Simons (born 1938) is an American
hedge fund
manager, mathematician
, and philanthropist
.
In 1982, Simons founded Renaissance Technologies
, a private investment firm based in New York
with over $15 billion under management; Simons is still at the helm, as CEO, of what is now one of the world's most successful hedge funds.
Simons is estimated to own $10.6 billion.
Simons lives with his wife in Manhattan
and Long Island
, and is the father of three children, two of whom died young under tragic circumstances, a drowning and auto accident.
Simons shuns the limelight and rarely gives interviews, citing Benjamin the Donkey
in Animal Farm
for explanation: "God gave me a tail to keep off the flies. But I'd rather have had no tail and no flies." On October 10, 2009, Simons announced he would retire on January 1, 2010 but remain at Renaissance as nonexecutive chairman.
and received a Bachelor of Science
in mathematics
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
in 1958 http://alum.mit.edu, and a Doctor of Philosophy
, also in mathematics, from the University of California, Berkeley
in 1961 at the age of 23. Between 1964 and 1968, he was on the research staff of the Communications Research Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses
(IDA). Simons taught mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. In 1968, he was appointed chairman of the math department at Stony Brook University. Simons was once asked by IBM
in 1973 to attack Lucifer
, an early but direct precursor to DES
.
In 1976, Simons won the American Mathematical Society
's Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry
, for work that involved a recasting of the subject of area minimizing multi-dimensional surfaces
and characteristic forms. This resulted in his proof of the Bernstein conjecture
up to real
dimension
8, and an improvement of a certain "regularity" result of Wendell Fleming on a generalized Plateau's problem
.
Simons' most influential research involved the discovery and application of certain geometric
measurements, and resulted in the Chern-Simons form
(also known as Chern-Simons invariants, or Chern-Simons theory
). In 1974, his theory was published in Characteristic Forms and Geometric Invariants, co-authored with the differential geometer Shiing-Shen Chern
. The theory is used in theoretical physics
, particularly string theory
.
In 1978, he left academia to run an investment fund that traded in commodities
and financial instruments on a discretionary basis. Jim has two grandchildren named Evan Simons who is really good at baseball and Alison Simons.
s, which trade in markets around the world, have employed mathematical models to analyze and execute trades, many automated. Renaissance uses computer-based models to predict price changes in easily-traded financial instruments. These models are based on analyzing as much data as can be gathered, then looking for non-random movements to make predictions.
Renaissance employs many specialists with non-financial backgrounds, including mathematician
s, physicist
s and statistician
s. The firm's latest fund is the Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (RIEF). RIEF has historically trailed the firm's more well-known Medallion fund, a separate fund that only contains the personal money of the firm's executives.
In 2006 Simons was named Financial Engineer of the Year by the International Association of Financial Engineers
. In 2007 he was estimated to have personally earned $2.8 billion, $1.7 billion in 2006, $1.5 billion in 2005, (the largest compensation among hedge fund managers that year) and $670 million in 2004.
Observers have been wondering how Renaissance's in-house Medallion Fund has managed to continue to outperform the stock market handily while funds open to outside investors have performed miserably.
The violation could be related to the Nova Fund, a hedge fund that had very high returns which was mysteriously subsumed by the internal Medallion Fund.
The Stony Brook University Foundation, whose chairman emeritus is James Simons, lost $5.4 million in Bernard Madoff
’s Ponzi scheme. Stony Brook invested money with Madoff through managed accounts since 1991. Simons encouraged the 24,000-student school to invest with Mr. Madoff while Mr. Simons was chairman of the Stony Brook Foundation. He helped introduce the college to Bernard Madoff. Mr. Simons's family foundation invested money with Madoff. The foundation is run by Marilyn Simons, Mr. Simons's wife. Mr. Simons is secretary and treasurer.
Simons and his second wife, Marilyn Hawrys Simons, co-founded the Paul Simons Foundation, a charitable organization which supports projects related to education and health, in addition to scientific research. Marilyn serves as the foundation's President, while Jim serves as its Secretary and Treasurer. In memory of his son Paul, who he had with his first wife, Barbara Simons
, he established Avalon Park, a 130 acre (0.5260918 km²) nature preserve in Stony Brook
. In 1996, 34-year-old Paul was killed by a car while riding a bicycle near the Simons home. Another son, Nick Simons, drowned at age 24 while on a trip to Bali
in Indonesia
in 2003. Nick had worked in Nepal
and the Simonses have become large donors to Nepalese healthcare through the Nick Simons Institute. Jim Simons also founded Math for America
, a non-profit organization with the mission to significantly improve math education in public schools.
In early 2006, he led a group of directors of Renaissance Technologies Corporation and of Brookhaven Science Associates in donating $13 million to fund a budget shortfall of the Brookhaven National Laboratory
that would have shut down the operations of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
for 2006.
Also in 2006 Simons donated $25 million to Stony Brook University through the Stony Brook Foundation. The gift is intended to benefit the Mathematics and Physics departments at the university.
On February 27, 2008, then Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced a $60 million donation by the Simons Foundation to found the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics
at Stony Brook, the largest gift to a public university in New York state history.
in recent years, and plans to spend another $100 million in what is becoming the largest private investment in the field of autism research, while Simons personally exerts extraordinary control over where and how his money is spent. Simons has provided DNA
from his family for study, and has given assistance in helping solve research problems. When MIT asked for brain research funding, he stipulated that the project focus on autism and include scientists of his choosing.
On June 11, 2003, the Simons Foundation hosted its first "Panel on Autism Research" in New York City, a day-long event highlighting research into the causes of autism, the accurate genomic mapping of autism, and in the study of the biochemical mechanisms that occur in autistic people. Attendees included David Amaral
, Dr. Eric Courchesne, Dr. Nathaniel Heinz, Tom Insel, MD, Catherine Lord, PhD, Dr. Fred Volkmar and Dr. Paul Greengard
. The Simons Foundation recently gave $10 million to two researchers at the Yale University
Child Study Center to study genetic influences on autism.
, the Institute for Advanced Study
, Rockefeller University
, and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
in Berkeley. He is also a member of the Board of the MIT Corporation.
as the 74th-richest person in the world and the 27th-richest person in America. He was named by the Financial Times
in 2006 as "the world's smartest billionaire".
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
hedge fund
Hedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
manager, mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
, and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
.
In 1982, Simons founded Renaissance Technologies
Renaissance Technologies
Renaissance Technologies is a hedge fund management company of about 275 employees and more than $ billion in assets under management in three funds...
, a private investment firm based in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
with over $15 billion under management; Simons is still at the helm, as CEO, of what is now one of the world's most successful hedge funds.
Simons is estimated to own $10.6 billion.
Simons lives with his wife in Manhattan
Manhattan
Manhattan is the oldest and the most densely populated of the five boroughs of New York City. Located primarily on the island of Manhattan at the mouth of the Hudson River, the boundaries of the borough are identical to those of New York County, an original county of the state of New York...
and Long Island
Long Island
Long Island is an island located in the southeast part of the U.S. state of New York, just east of Manhattan. Stretching northeast into the Atlantic Ocean, Long Island contains four counties, two of which are boroughs of New York City , and two of which are mainly suburban...
, and is the father of three children, two of whom died young under tragic circumstances, a drowning and auto accident.
Simons shuns the limelight and rarely gives interviews, citing Benjamin the Donkey
Benjamin (Animal Farm)
Benjamin is a character in George Orwell's novella Animal Farm. He is the oldest of the animals and is alive in the last scene of the novel...
in Animal Farm
Animal Farm
Animal Farm is an allegorical novella by George Orwell published in England on 17 August 1945. According to Orwell, the book reflects events leading up to and during the Stalin era before World War II...
for explanation: "God gave me a tail to keep off the flies. But I'd rather have had no tail and no flies." On October 10, 2009, Simons announced he would retire on January 1, 2010 but remain at Renaissance as nonexecutive chairman.
Early life and career
Jim Simons is the son of a shoe factory owner in MassachusettsMassachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and received a Bachelor of Science
Bachelor of Science
A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years .-Australia:In Australia, the BSc is a 3 year degree, offered from 1st year on...
in mathematics
Mathematics
Mathematics is the study of quantity, space, structure, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns and formulate new conjectures. Mathematicians resolve the truth or falsity of conjectures by mathematical proofs, which are arguments sufficient to convince other mathematicians of their validity...
from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology
Massachusetts Institute of Technology
The Massachusetts Institute of Technology is a private research university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts. MIT has five schools and one college, containing a total of 32 academic departments, with a strong emphasis on scientific and technological education and research.Founded in 1861 in...
in 1958 http://alum.mit.edu, and a Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated as Ph.D., PhD, D.Phil., or DPhil , in English-speaking countries, is a postgraduate academic degree awarded by universities...
, also in mathematics, from the University of California, Berkeley
University of California, Berkeley
The University of California, Berkeley , is a teaching and research university established in 1868 and located in Berkeley, California, USA...
in 1961 at the age of 23. Between 1964 and 1968, he was on the research staff of the Communications Research Division of the Institute for Defense Analyses
Institute for Defense Analyses
The Institute for Defense Analyses is a non-profit corporation that administers three federally funded research and development centers to assist the United States government in addressing important national security issues, particularly those requiring scientific and technical expertise...
(IDA). Simons taught mathematics at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology and Harvard University. In 1968, he was appointed chairman of the math department at Stony Brook University. Simons was once asked by IBM
IBM
International Business Machines Corporation or IBM is an American multinational technology and consulting corporation headquartered in Armonk, New York, United States. IBM manufactures and sells computer hardware and software, and it offers infrastructure, hosting and consulting services in areas...
in 1973 to attack Lucifer
Lucifer (cipher)
In cryptography, Lucifer was the name given to several of the earliest civilian block ciphers, developed by Horst Feistel and his colleagues at IBM. Lucifer was a direct precursor to the Data Encryption Standard...
, an early but direct precursor to DES
Data Encryption Standard
The Data Encryption Standard is a block cipher that uses shared secret encryption. It was selected by the National Bureau of Standards as an official Federal Information Processing Standard for the United States in 1976 and which has subsequently enjoyed widespread use internationally. It is...
.
In 1976, Simons won the American Mathematical Society
American Mathematical Society
The American Mathematical Society is an association of professional mathematicians dedicated to the interests of mathematical research and scholarship, which it does with various publications and conferences as well as annual monetary awards and prizes to mathematicians.The society is one of the...
's Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry
Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry
The Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry is an award granted by the American Mathematical Society for notable research in geometry or topology. It was founded in 1961 in memory of Oswald Veblen...
, for work that involved a recasting of the subject of area minimizing multi-dimensional surfaces
Minimal surface
In mathematics, a minimal surface is a surface with a mean curvature of zero.These include, but are not limited to, surfaces of minimum area subject to various constraints....
and characteristic forms. This resulted in his proof of the Bernstein conjecture
Bernstein's problem
In differential geometry, Bernstein's problem is as follows: if the graph of a function on Rn−1 is a minimal surface in Rn, does this imply that the function is linear?...
up to real
Real number
In mathematics, a real number is a value that represents a quantity along a continuum, such as -5 , 4/3 , 8.6 , √2 and π...
dimension
Dimension
In physics and mathematics, the dimension of a space or object is informally defined as the minimum number of coordinates needed to specify any point within it. Thus a line has a dimension of one because only one coordinate is needed to specify a point on it...
8, and an improvement of a certain "regularity" result of Wendell Fleming on a generalized Plateau's problem
Plateau's problem
In mathematics, Plateau's problem is to show the existence of a minimal surface with a given boundary, a problem raised by Joseph-Louis Lagrange in 1760. However, it is named after Joseph Plateau who was interested in soap films. The problem is considered part of the calculus of variations...
.
Simons' most influential research involved the discovery and application of certain geometric
Geometry
Geometry arose as the field of knowledge dealing with spatial relationships. Geometry was one of the two fields of pre-modern mathematics, the other being the study of numbers ....
measurements, and resulted in the Chern-Simons form
Chern-Simons form
In mathematics, the Chern–Simons forms are certain secondary characteristic classes. They have been found to be of interest in gauge theory, and they define the action of Chern–Simons theory...
(also known as Chern-Simons invariants, or Chern-Simons theory
Chern-Simons theory
The Chern–Simons theory is a 3-dimensional topological quantum field theory of Schwarz type, introduced by Edward Witten. It is so named because its action is proportional to the integral of the Chern–Simons 3-form....
). In 1974, his theory was published in Characteristic Forms and Geometric Invariants, co-authored with the differential geometer Shiing-Shen Chern
Shiing-Shen Chern
Shiing-Shen Chern was a Chinese American mathematician, one of the leaders in differential geometry of the twentieth century.-Early years in China:...
. The theory is used in theoretical physics
Physics
Physics is a natural science that involves the study of matter and its motion through spacetime, along with related concepts such as energy and force. More broadly, it is the general analysis of nature, conducted in order to understand how the universe behaves.Physics is one of the oldest academic...
, particularly string theory
String theory
String theory is an active research framework in particle physics that attempts to reconcile quantum mechanics and general relativity. It is a contender for a theory of everything , a manner of describing the known fundamental forces and matter in a mathematically complete system...
.
In 1978, he left academia to run an investment fund that traded in commodities
Commodity
In economics, a commodity is the generic term for any marketable item produced to satisfy wants or needs. Economic commodities comprise goods and services....
and financial instruments on a discretionary basis. Jim has two grandchildren named Evan Simons who is really good at baseball and Alison Simons.
Renaissance Technologies
For more than two decades, Simons' Renaissance Technologies' hedge fundHedge fund
A hedge fund is a private pool of capital actively managed by an investment adviser. Hedge funds are only open for investment to a limited number of accredited or qualified investors who meet criteria set by regulators. These investors can be institutions, such as pension funds, university...
s, which trade in markets around the world, have employed mathematical models to analyze and execute trades, many automated. Renaissance uses computer-based models to predict price changes in easily-traded financial instruments. These models are based on analyzing as much data as can be gathered, then looking for non-random movements to make predictions.
Renaissance employs many specialists with non-financial backgrounds, including mathematician
Mathematician
A mathematician is a person whose primary area of study is the field of mathematics. Mathematicians are concerned with quantity, structure, space, and change....
s, physicist
Physicist
A physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
s and statistician
Statistician
A statistician is someone who works with theoretical or applied statistics. The profession exists in both the private and public sectors. The core of that work is to measure, interpret, and describe the world and human activity patterns within it...
s. The firm's latest fund is the Renaissance Institutional Equities Fund (RIEF). RIEF has historically trailed the firm's more well-known Medallion fund, a separate fund that only contains the personal money of the firm's executives.
- "It's startling to see such a highly successful mathematician achieve success in another field," says Edward WittenEdward WittenEdward Witten is an American theoretical physicist with a focus on mathematical physics who is currently a professor of Mathematical Physics at the Institute for Advanced Study....
, professor of physics at the Institute for Advanced Study in Princeton, NJ, and considered by many of his peers to be the most accomplished theoretical physicist alive... (Gregory Zuckerman, "Heard on the Street", Wall Street Journal, July 1, 2005).
In 2006 Simons was named Financial Engineer of the Year by the International Association of Financial Engineers
International Association of Financial Engineers
The International Association of Financial Engineers is a non-profit professional society dedicated to fostering the field of financial engineering. The IAFE hosts several panel discussions throughout the year to discuss the issues that affect the industry from both academic and professional angles...
. In 2007 he was estimated to have personally earned $2.8 billion, $1.7 billion in 2006, $1.5 billion in 2005, (the largest compensation among hedge fund managers that year) and $670 million in 2004.
Observers have been wondering how Renaissance's in-house Medallion Fund has managed to continue to outperform the stock market handily while funds open to outside investors have performed miserably.
The violation could be related to the Nova Fund, a hedge fund that had very high returns which was mysteriously subsumed by the internal Medallion Fund.
The Stony Brook University Foundation, whose chairman emeritus is James Simons, lost $5.4 million in Bernard Madoff
Bernard Madoff
Bernard Lawrence "Bernie" Madoff is a former American businessman, stockbroker, investment advisor, and financier. He is the former non-executive chairman of the NASDAQ stock market, and the admitted operator of a Ponzi scheme that is considered to be the largest financial fraud in U.S...
’s Ponzi scheme. Stony Brook invested money with Madoff through managed accounts since 1991. Simons encouraged the 24,000-student school to invest with Mr. Madoff while Mr. Simons was chairman of the Stony Brook Foundation. He helped introduce the college to Bernard Madoff. Mr. Simons's family foundation invested money with Madoff. The foundation is run by Marilyn Simons, Mr. Simons's wife. Mr. Simons is secretary and treasurer.
Philanthropy
The wealth that Simons has amassed funds his many philanthropic pursuits. Simons is a benefactor for the mathematical sciences, supporting research projects, chairs, and conferences in the United States and abroad.Simons and his second wife, Marilyn Hawrys Simons, co-founded the Paul Simons Foundation, a charitable organization which supports projects related to education and health, in addition to scientific research. Marilyn serves as the foundation's President, while Jim serves as its Secretary and Treasurer. In memory of his son Paul, who he had with his first wife, Barbara Simons
Barbara Simons
Barbara Simons is a computer scientist and past president of the Association for Computing Machinery . She has held various technical, administrative, and public policy positions with the ACM since the early 1990s ; she is founder and former Chair of USACM, the ACM U.S. Public Policy Committee...
, he established Avalon Park, a 130 acre (0.5260918 km²) nature preserve in Stony Brook
Stony Brook, New York
Stony Brook is a hamlet located in the Town of Brookhaven in Suffolk County, New York, which is on the North Shore of Long Island...
. In 1996, 34-year-old Paul was killed by a car while riding a bicycle near the Simons home. Another son, Nick Simons, drowned at age 24 while on a trip to Bali
Bali
Bali is an Indonesian island located in the westernmost end of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east...
in Indonesia
Indonesia
Indonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
in 2003. Nick had worked in Nepal
Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked sovereign state located in South Asia. It is located in the Himalayas and bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
and the Simonses have become large donors to Nepalese healthcare through the Nick Simons Institute. Jim Simons also founded Math for America
Math for America
Math for America is a nonprofit organization, founded in January 2004 by mathematician Jim Simons with a mission to improve mathematics education in United States public schools by recruiting, training, and retaining highly qualified secondary school mathematics teachers.-Background:MƒA created...
, a non-profit organization with the mission to significantly improve math education in public schools.
In early 2006, he led a group of directors of Renaissance Technologies Corporation and of Brookhaven Science Associates in donating $13 million to fund a budget shortfall of the Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
that would have shut down the operations of the Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider
The Relativistic Heavy Ion Collider is one of two existing heavy-ion colliders, and the only spin-polarized proton collider in the world. It is located at Brookhaven National Laboratory in Upton, New York and operated by an international team of researchers...
for 2006.
Also in 2006 Simons donated $25 million to Stony Brook University through the Stony Brook Foundation. The gift is intended to benefit the Mathematics and Physics departments at the university.
On February 27, 2008, then Gov. Eliot Spitzer announced a $60 million donation by the Simons Foundation to found the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics
Simons Center for Geometry and Physics
The Simons Center for Geometry and Physics is a center for theoretical physics and mathematics at Stony Brook University in New York. The focus of the center is mathematical physics and the interface of geometry and physics. It was founded in 2007 by a gift from the James and Marilyn Simons...
at Stony Brook, the largest gift to a public university in New York state history.
Autism research
The family's charitable foundation has committed $38 million to find the causes related to autismAutism
Autism is a disorder of neural development characterized by impaired social interaction and communication, and by restricted and repetitive behavior. These signs all begin before a child is three years old. Autism affects information processing in the brain by altering how nerve cells and their...
in recent years, and plans to spend another $100 million in what is becoming the largest private investment in the field of autism research, while Simons personally exerts extraordinary control over where and how his money is spent. Simons has provided DNA
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid is a nucleic acid that contains the genetic instructions used in the development and functioning of all known living organisms . The DNA segments that carry this genetic information are called genes, but other DNA sequences have structural purposes, or are involved in...
from his family for study, and has given assistance in helping solve research problems. When MIT asked for brain research funding, he stipulated that the project focus on autism and include scientists of his choosing.
On June 11, 2003, the Simons Foundation hosted its first "Panel on Autism Research" in New York City, a day-long event highlighting research into the causes of autism, the accurate genomic mapping of autism, and in the study of the biochemical mechanisms that occur in autistic people. Attendees included David Amaral
David Amaral
David G. Amaral, PhD, is a professor of psychiatry at the University of California, Davis, United States, and since 1998 has been the research director at the M.I.N.D. Institute, an affiliate of UC Davis, engaged in interdisciplinary research into the causes and treatment of autism and related...
, Dr. Eric Courchesne, Dr. Nathaniel Heinz, Tom Insel, MD, Catherine Lord, PhD, Dr. Fred Volkmar and Dr. Paul Greengard
Paul Greengard
Paul Greengard is an American neuroscientist best known for his work on the molecular and cellular function of neurons. In 2000, Greengard, Arvid Carlsson and Eric Kandel were awarded the Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine for their discoveries concerning signal transduction in the nervous...
. The Simons Foundation recently gave $10 million to two researchers at the Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
Child Study Center to study genetic influences on autism.
Boardroom appointments
Simons serves as trustee of Brookhaven National LaboratoryBrookhaven National Laboratory
Brookhaven National Laboratory , is a United States national laboratory located in Upton, New York on Long Island, and was formally established in 1947 at the site of Camp Upton, a former U.S. Army base...
, the Institute for Advanced Study
Institute for Advanced Study
The Institute for Advanced Study, located in Princeton, New Jersey, United States, is an independent postgraduate center for theoretical research and intellectual inquiry. It was founded in 1930 by Abraham Flexner...
, Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
, and the Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
Mathematical Sciences Research Institute
The Mathematical Sciences Research Institute , founded in 1982, is an independent nonprofit mathematical research institution whose funding sources include the National Science Foundation, foundations, corporations, and more than 90 universities and institutions...
in Berkeley. He is also a member of the Board of the MIT Corporation.
Wealth
Simons earned an estimated $2.5 billion in 2008, and with an estimated net worth of $10.6 billion, he is ranked by ForbesForbes
Forbes is an American publishing and media company. Its flagship publication, the Forbes magazine, is published biweekly. Its primary competitors in the national business magazine category are Fortune, which is also published biweekly, and Business Week...
as the 74th-richest person in the world and the 27th-richest person in America. He was named by the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
in 2006 as "the world's smartest billionaire".
See also
- Chern-Simons theoryChern-Simons theoryThe Chern–Simons theory is a 3-dimensional topological quantum field theory of Schwarz type, introduced by Edward Witten. It is so named because its action is proportional to the integral of the Chern–Simons 3-form....
- Chern-Simons formChern-Simons formIn mathematics, the Chern–Simons forms are certain secondary characteristic classes. They have been found to be of interest in gauge theory, and they define the action of Chern–Simons theory...
- The Quants: How a New Breed of Math Whizzes Conquered Wall Street and Nearly Destroyed It
- Speech at MIT
External links
- The Code Breaker - Jan 2008 Bloomberg MarketsBloomberg MarketsBloomberg Markets is a monthly magazine published by Bloomberg L.P.. It is aimed at financial experts and professionals. It focuses on financial decisions and philosophies of major personalities in the financial world, such as the CEOs of large banks and the people who wield political power over...
article on Simons and Renaissance - The Simons Foundation, where James Simons serves as Secretary and Treasurer
- Titan's Millions Stir Up Research Into Autism - Wall Street Journal
- Putting His Money Where His Math Is - September 2006 article in Seed Magazine.
- Nick Simons Institute
- James Simons on mathematics, common sense and good luck: my life and careers
- Jim Simons Speaks: Just No to Google and Goldman Sachs