Bridgewater

In nineteen seventy-five, Ray Dalio started Bridgewater with five thousand dollars. Traditional hedge funds were hierarchical. Senior managers made decisions. Junior analysts followed orders. Dalio asked why. What if every argument was rated by evidence, not seniority? What if meetings were recorded so decisions could be reviewed later? Dalio created radical transparency. Every meeting was recorded. Employees rated each other's arguments in real-time using a numerical system. Correct analysis received high ratings regardless of rank. Wrong analysis received low ratings regardless of title. The best argument won, not the highest rank. Ego was removed from investing. Decisions improved fundamentally. Bridgewater averaged twelve percent returns annually across four decades.