Richard Dennis

Richard J. Dennis, a former commodities speculator known as the "Prince of the Pit,"cite news | last =Bauer | first =Douglas | title =Prince of the Pit | publisher = The New York Times Magazine | page = 200 | date = 1976-04-25 | url =http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=FA0712FB385A1A7493C7AB178FD85F428785F9 | accessdate = 2007-02-05 ] was born in Chicago, in January, 1949. In the early 1970s, he borrowed several thousand dollars and reportedly made $200 million in about ten years. He incurred significant losses in the stock market crash of 1987, and retired from trading for several years.cite news | last =Koepp | first =Stephen | title =Special Report: The Crash, One Year Later | publisher =Time | date = 1988-10-17 | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968706,00.html | accessdate = 2007-02-03 ] He has been active in Democratic and Libertarian political causes, most notably in campaigns against drug prohibition.cite news | last =Goldberg | first =Carey | title =Wealthy Ally for Dissidents in the Drug War | publisher = The New York Times | date =1996-09-11 | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?sec=health&res=9B0CE7DF1E3BF932A2575AC0A960958260 | accessdate = 2007-02-05 ]

Career

He became a Chicago Mercantile Exchange runner at age 17. A few years later, he began trading for his own account from the floor of the Chicago Board of Trade Building. To work around a rule against traders under the age of 21, he hired his father to trade for him.

Dennis graduated from DePaul University with a BA in philosophy. He had accepted a scholarship for graduate study in philosophy at Tulane University, before changing his mind and returning to the Chicago Board of Trade.

Much of his early success involved trend following during the "Great Russian Grain Robbery" when the U.S government secretly agreed to sell the Soviet Union grain, thus driving up prices over an extended period.

Dennis believed that successful trading was an activity that could be learned, rather than an innate ability. To settle this dispute with William Eckhardt, a friend and fellow trader, in 1983 Dennis recruited and trained 21 men and 2 women [ [http://www.compareshares.com.au/printarticle.php?id=fras44 Turtle Article - background] ] , in two groups, one from December 1983, and the other from December 1984, who both became known as the "turtles." The program with the turtles ended in 1988. Many turtles have gone on to successful careers as commodity trading advisors.

During the Black Monday stock market crash of 1987, he reportedly lost $10 millioncite news | last =Flynn | first =Julia M. | title =MARKET TURMOIL; Trader's Survival Lessons | publisher = The New York Times | page = D 11 | date = 1987-10-28 | url =http://select.nytimes.com/gst/abstract.html?res=F40714FF3F590C7B8EDDA90994DF484D81 | accessdate = 2007-02-05 ] and a total of $50 million in 1987-88.cite news | last =Koepp | first =Stephen | title =Special Report: The Crash, One Year Later | publisher =Time | date = 1988-10-17 | url =http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,968706,00.html | accessdate = 2007-02-03 ] In 1990 his firm settled investor complaints for over $2.5 million, without admitting any wrongdoing.cite news | last =Reuters news wire | title =Judge Approves Dennis Pact | publisher = The New York Times | date = 1990-11-02 | url =http://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9C0CE3DB1639F932A15752C1A966958260 | accessdate = 2007-02-05 ]

Dennis has published op-ed articles in "The New York Times", "The Wall Street Journal", and the "Chicago Tribune". He is the president of the Dennis Trading Group Inc. and the vice-chairman of C&D Commodities, a former chairman of the advisory board of the Drug Policy Alliance, and a member of the Board of Directors of the Cato Institute.

Published works

* [http://www.totse.com/en/drugs/legal_issues_of_drug_use/cato06.html Toward a Moral Drug Policy]

See also

*List of personalities associated with Wall Street

References

Further reading

*cite book | last = Schwager | first = Jack D. | authorlink = Jack D. Schwager | title = Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders | publisher = Collins; Reissue edition | date = 1993 | location = p. 85 | url = http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0887306101/ref=sib_dp_pt/102-0283107-2260965# | id = ISBN 0-88730-610-1
*cite book | last = Faith | first = Curtis M. | title = Way of the Turtle:The Secret Methods that Turned Ordinary People into Legendary Traders | publisher = McGraw-Hill | date = 2007 | location = | url = http://www.amazon.com/dp/007148664X/ | id = ISBN 0-07-148664-X
*cite book | last = Covel | first = Michael W. | title = Trend Following | publisher = Financial Times Prentice Hall | date = 2005 | location = "Chapter 2 Section" | url = http://www.amazon.com/gp/reader/0131345508/?keywords=%22Richard+Dennis%22&v=search-inside | id = ISBN 0-13-134550-8
*cite book | last = Covel | first = Michael W. | title = The Complete TurtleTrader| publisher = Collins| date = 2007 | location = "Book" | url = | id = ISBN 978-0-06-124170-3
*cite news | last = Collins | first = Art | title = Interview: Richard Dennis | publisher = Stocks & Commodities magazine | date = April 2005 | url = http://traderscom.stores.yahoo.net/stcov234inri.html | accessdate = 2006-09-05

External links

* [http://www.streetstories.com/rd_finan_trader.html Street Stories]
* [http://www.businessweek.com/1997/14/b3521101.htm Businessweek Profile] , "Rich Dennis: A Gunslinger No More", June 4th, 1997.