The Fund

Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend

By: Rob Copeland

Narrated by: Rob Copeland, Will Damron

Length: 12 hrs and 54 mins

Publisher's summary

This program features an author's note and epilogue read by the author.

The unauthorized, unvarnished story of famed Wall Street hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio.

Ray Dalio does not want you to listen to this audiobook.

Late last year, when the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund on the planet, announced that he was stepping down from the company he started out of his apartment nearly 50 years ago, the news made headlines around the world. Dalio cultivated an aura of international admiration and fame thanks to his company’s eye-popping success, coupled with a mystique he encouraged with frequent media appearances, celebrity hobnobbing, and his bestselling book, Principles. In The Fund, award-winning New York Times journalist Rob Copeland punctures this carefully constructed narrative of the benevolent business titan, exposing his much-promoted “principles” as one of the great feats of hubris in modern memory—in practice, they encouraged a toxic culture of paranoia and backstabbing.

The Fund is a thrilling, stranger-than-fiction journey into a rarefied world of wealth and power. It offers an unflinching look at the pain so often caused by the “radical transparency” Dalio has described as a core tenet of his recipe for business success and a meaningful life. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with those inside and around the firm, Copeland takes listeners into the room as former FBI director Jim Comey kisses Dalio's ring, recent Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick drinks the Kool-Aid, and a rotating cast of memorable characters grapple with their personal psychological and moral limits—all under the watchful eye of their charismatic leader.

This is a cautionary tale for anyone convinced that the ability to make lots of money has anything at all to do with unlocking the principles of human nature.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2023 Rob Copeland (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“At last, the era of the billionaire philosopher-king has a defining book. The Fund is a taut, nonfiction thriller."—Bryan Burrough, author of Barbarians at the Gate

“A classic American story about the most famous man on Wall Street—or the person he seems to be. The Fund manages to both shock and entertain at the same time.”—Philipp Meyer, bestselling author of American Rust and The Son

"The most explosive, mind-blowing business book I've ever read—and the most fun, too."—Bradley Hope, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Billion Dollar Whale and Pulitzer Prize finalist

Great Book about yet another guru gone kinda wrong

Narcissism, money, human pain. Awesome non fiction work, can’t wait for more from Copeland. I listen to lots of nonfiction; this is in my top ten

Great example of Narcissism at its finest

Rob Copelands version of the events at Bridgewater appear to be accurate and well documented. If true, it is yet another example of society’s fascination with wealth over character. While the accomplishments of Dalio are gigantic, the ego and manipulative tendencies are consistent with archetype. The principals he espouses seem to be nonsense.

If you ever need to stand on principles…

It is because you didn’t have any.

Ray Dalio is the quintessential example of this. Finally journalism and media has someone to look up to. Will be looking for his next work.

Beyond the nonsense

Fascinating insight into the cult of Dalio. Book beat expectations, and finished in no time.

A great story, and I salute the author for doing it

A great story, and I salute the author for doing it. A great story, and I salute the author for doing it.

Wow. A look into a hedge fund cult

Incredibly interesting book. Hard to imagine a places like this could exist for so long. For the life of me I can’t understand why people don’t just quit. I guess easier said than done, and always to hope of becoming obscenely wealthy.

what Ray Dalio doesn't want you to know.

Dalio professes to be rags to Rich's and doesn't mention the rich that lifted him up. that is just one part of his life he doesn't mention on his road to billions. how he is Machiavellian and professes to care about the wealth gap. listen to this is you ever took Dalio at his word. ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

perspective to Dalio’s Principles

Fast paced, insider view and other side to Dalio’s stories. Not surprising but interesting nonetheless.

Interesting perspective

The author definitely has some strong points that counter position the persona that Ray Dalio has publicly, but I would expect BA to be a very intense workplace with a hardworking and brutal culture - not only because of the principles (which are crazy extreme) but because of the industry of financial services. It’s important to learn the inner story of the built up of one of the most relevant hedge funds in recent history and to remind ourselves that there are always nuances to what is commonly exposed outside. Ray Dalio is definitely not a saint, but I don’t think he would be as bad as the book describes him.

Radical Transparency- Great Book, Couldn’t Put it Down

I felt that the author had an even hand with the story. The people at BW are obviously very smart. But that doesn’t make Dalio the second coming, either. It’s a story as old as time- I recommend you read this book.