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| Photographer: Amanda Gordon/Bloomberg | 7. (tie) John Overdeck / $500 million | |
| Title: Co-founder and co-chairmanFirm: Two Sigma (New York)Age: 472015 Rank: No. 7 (tie)2015 Earnings: $500 million2014 Rank: Did not qualifyYears on list: 1 | Source of BS in mathematics, Stanford | |
John Overdeck and his Two Sigma co-founder, David Siegel, make their debut on the Rich List after earning $500 million each in 2015. They are among the half or so top earners who qualified, in part or totally, from the performance of computer-driven hedge fund strategies. Overdeck has a BS in mathematics and an MS in statistics from Stanford University. Last year Two Sigma Compass Cayman Fund and Two Sigma Absolute Return Fund both gained about 15 percent; their historical annualized returns are 16.5 percent and 10 percent, respectively.
Overdeck was something of a math prodigy growing up. At 16 he won a silver medal for the U.S. in the 1986 International Mathematical Olympiad in Poland. Not surprisingly, math is in his genes: His father was a senior mathematician at the National Security Agency, and his mother directed satellite communications software development for Computer Sciences Corp. Overdeck kicked off his career at quant pioneer D.E. Shaw & Co. — where he met Siegel — eventually directing the firm’s Japanese equity and equity-linked investments, and overseeing its investment management affiliate in London. He left D.E. Shaw to serve as technical assistant to Amazon.com founder Jeff Bezos before launching Two Sigma in 2001. Overdeck and his wife, Laura, have been passionate supporters of education through their family foundation. He also is a director of Hamilton Insurance Group, serves on the board of the Robin Hood Foundation and is vice chairman of the National Museum of Mathematics.
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