Bridgewater Investments Founder Ray Dalio: Invest in Idea Meritocracy

The investment icon says a system of thoughtful disagreement creates competitive advantage.

Ray Dalio has had a lot of jobs. But the one he's best known for is founder and current co-CIO and cochair of Bridgewater Investments, the most successful hedge fund in history and one of Fortune's five most important private American companies. He has been called the "Steve Jobs of investing" and named one of Time's Most Influential People. Dalio has also written the bestseller Principles: Life and Work and, more recently, Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises.

The investor and philanthropist spoke to Stanford GSB students in April as part of the school's 'View From The Top' series.

Born in Queens, New York, to a jazz musician and a homemaker, Dalio made his first stock market investment at age 12 - in a company verging on bankruptcy. "Another company acquired it, and it tripled in value," he says. "I thought, 'This game is easy!' The game's not easy, but that's what got me hooked."

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