- The hedge-fund founder Ray Dalio hosted a candid Reddit AMA on May 7, during which Redditors could ask him questions about anything, from his company’s work culture to the future of climate change.
- Users also asked him for life advice and book recommendations.
- The one thing Dalio wishes he had – and that money can’t buy – is time.
- Visit Business Insider’s homepage for more stories.
Ever wanted to ask a billionaire anything? The hedge-fund founder Ray Dalio sat down for a Reddit AMA on Tuesday, during which he answered questions from Reddit users on a variety of topics, including climate change and his favorite books.
Reddit users (or Redditors) are part of a vast online community with subreddits for nearly everything. One of the most popular subreddits is “/r/IAmA,” where celebrities and authorities in specific fields sit down for the digital equivalent of a radio call-in show (AMA stands for “ask me anything”).
Dalio – who founded the largest hedge-fund, Bridgewater Associates, in 1975 – is a self-made billionaire with a net worth of $18.4 billion. He recently launched an app, Principles in Action, based on his 2017 best seller, “Principles,” designed to give advice on success in work and in life. Now Dalio has decided to give out his life advice on the internet to anyone curious enough to ask.
Dalio opened up the question-and-answer session with a post that began: “I’m Ray Dalio – founder of Bridgewater Associates. I’m interested in how reality works and having principles for dealing with it well – especially about life, work, economics and investments. Ask me about these things-or anything.”
Here are some highlights from that discussion:
A Reddit user asked Dalio how climate change would influence the economy.
Another user asked him for his favorite books of all time.
A user named malkojohn pointed out that Dalio recently downgraded the chances for a recession to 35% and asked for investing advice based on that prediction.
Eventually, someone brought up a key tenet of Dalio's workplace philosophy: radical transparency. The user espada1717 nudged Dalio to share ways one could apply the philosophy in their day-to-day life.
With graduation season already here, the user Neoking asked what Dalio would study in college if here were 18 right now.
The Bridgewater founder also spent time explaining "the art of thoughtful disagreement."
Dalio took a reflective turn when the user AustinSam3000 asked him what he wished he had that money can't buy.
Speaking of which, he had time to plug his app, Principles in Action.
