When it comes to top-tier wealth among businessmen, starting in hedge funds is a common path. But it certainly doesn’t guarantee wealth, and to say Raoul Pal is big in the hedge fund world doesn’t come close to doing justice to his accomplishments, which are many and varied, especially when it comes to his recent forays into the world of cryptocurrency.
Pal, whose current net worth is believed to be about $45 million. started his career by getting a degree in Economics and Law from the University of Plymouth in the UK. He then landed a job as a sales executive at Dow Jones Telerate, but Pal’s movement toward wealth began when he became Head of European Hedge Fund Sales for Goldman Sachs. From there he became a portfolio manager at GLG Partners, and Raoul’s big leap began when he started his own business, The Global Macro Investor, in 2005.
The information service provided research and analysis for many large hedge funds and pension funds, and the wealth Pal amassed from that venture and his consulting business made it possible for him to live a beachfront life in Valencia, Spain.
But it was the founding of Real Vision in 2013 that truly vaulted Raoul to prominence. Frustrated by what he saw as the inability of traditional media companies to follow and adapt to changing markets, the on-demand finance channel Pal founded with fellow visionary Grant Williams became a huge hit.
How? Part of what makes Pal so fascinating is his ability to frame himself as a contrarian who prides himself on going in the opposite direction from the financial herd. The investment ideas featured on Real Vision and his 20/20 newsletter include advice from self-made billionaires, top hedge fund managers and other financial luminaries. It’s a heady blend, and Pal has followed up his success with Real Vision by making some daring forecasts and moves in the world of cryptocurrency.
He made big money on Bitcoin, focusing mostly on its mercurial growth when others were calling it a fad, and Pal recently made a splash by saying that Ethereum was at a point in its early development that mirrors that of Bitcoin.
Pal also walked the walk when it comes to his belief in both platforms. Late last year, he announced that he would be selling all his gold holdings and using them to buy Bitcoin and Ethereum. The end result is that approximately 98 percent of his liquid holdings are now in cryptocurrency. It was a daring move, but based on Pal’s prior success it seems unlikely to backfire on him.
Personally, he has also made some daring moves on that front as well. In 2019 the once-divorced Pal married Anoush, a therapist, with their wedding taking place in Marrakesh.
Pal has stated that he’s retiring before but it seems unlikely. He lives in the Cayman Islands with Anoush, and he’s quite active on Twitter, so it’s not as if his financial opinions have become less visible. Look for him to be a major player in the cryptocurrency world as he plans his next move, which will doubtless be both bold and unconventional.
