Ray Dalio Biography: Net Worth, Books, Wife, Age, Parents, Children, Height, Religion, Wikipedia

Biography

Ray Dalio, born Raymond Thomas Dalio on August 8, 1949, in New York City, is a prominent American billionaire investor and hedge fund manager.

He founded Bridgewater Associates in 1975 from his two-bedroom apartment, growing it into the world’s largest hedge fund, managing around $92 billion in assets as of recent reports.

Known for his principles of “radical transparency” and “idea meritocracy,” Dalio authored the bestselling book Principles: Life & Work (2017) and others on economic cycles.

After transitioning out of day-to-day leadership at Bridgewater by 2022, he remains active in philanthropy, focusing on ocean exploration, education, and equal opportunity.

American hedge fund manager
Ray Dalio
Wiki Facts & About Data
Real Name:	Raymond Thomas Dalio
Stage Name:	Ray Dalio
Born:	8 August 1949 (age 76 years old)
Place of Birth:	Jackson Heights, New York, United States
Nationality:	American
Education:	LIU Post, Harvard Business School, Long Island University
Height:	1.63 m
Parents:	Marino Dallolio, Ann Dallolio
Siblings:	N/A
Spouse:	Barbara Dalio (m. 1970)
Girlfriend • Partner:	Not Dating
Children:	Devon Dalio, Paul Dalio, Matt Dalio, Mark Dalio
Occupation:	Investor • Hedge Fund Manager
Net Worth:	$15.4 billion (USD)

Early Life & Education

Ray Dalio was born Raymond Thomas Dalio on August 8, 1949, in the Jackson Heights neighborhood of Queens, New York City. He grew up in a middle-class Italian-American family.

His father, Marino Dallolio (originally spelled that way, later anglicized to Dalio; 1911–2002), was a jazz musician who played clarinet and saxophone at prominent Manhattan clubs like the Copacabana.

His mother, Ann Dallolio, was a homemaker. Dalio is an only child with no siblings. The family moved to Manhasset, Long Island, when he was eight years old.

Dalio is of Italian descent (White/Caucasian ethnicity). Sources describe his background as Italian-American, with some noting possible Catholic heritage given the family origins. However, he has shown little public interest in organized religion and has long practiced Transcendental Meditation.

For education, Dalio attended public schools in Manhasset and was an average student who disliked rote learning. He later earned a Bachelor of Science in finance from C.W. Post College (now LIU Post) at Long Island University in 1971, followed by an MBA from Harvard Business School in 1973.

His interest in investing began at age 12, when he caddied at a golf course, heard stock tips, and made his first investment (buying shares in Northeast Airlines, which tripled after a merger).

Career

Ray Dalio’s career began shortly after he completed his MBA at Harvard Business School in 1973. He started out on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange, trading commodity futures, and later became Director of Commodities at Dominick & Dominick LLC.

In 1974, he moved to Shearson Hayden Stone as a futures trader and broker, though his time there ended when he was fired after a dispute with his supervisor.

In 1975, at just 26, Dalio launched Bridgewater Associates from his two-bedroom apartment in New York. The firm initially focused on advising clients on currency and interest-rate risks, but it quickly expanded after securing major institutional clients, including the World Bank’s pension fund.

Over the following decades, Dalio introduced influential investment strategies, such as the Pure Alpha global macro fund in 1991 and the All Weather portfolio in 1996, which helped popularize the risk-parity approach. By 2005, Bridgewater had grown into the world’s largest hedge fund, and at its peak, it managed around $168 billion in assets.

The firm became known for its unconventional culture centered on “radical transparency” and “idea meritocracy,” an environment where data-driven debates were encouraged, and meetings were often recorded for internal review.

Bridgewater delivered strong long-term performance, including navigating the 2008 financial crisis with notable success. By 2020, the firm had generated more cumulative profits for clients than any hedge fund in history.

Dalio began handing over leadership in 2017, stepping down as co-CEO and gradually reducing his operational role. He fully stepped away from management in October 2022 after retiring as co-chief investment officer and transferring his voting rights to the board.

In 2025, he sold his remaining equity stake—at a time when Bridgewater managed roughly $92 billion—and departed the board, finalizing his long-planned transition.

Dalio remains active as an author, thinker, and philanthropist, continuing to share his views on global economic cycles, debt dynamics, and the principles that shaped his career through books and public commentary.

Social Media

• Wikipedia: Ray Dalio
• Facebook: Ray Dalio
• Twitter: Ray Dalio (@RayDalio) / X
• Instagram: Ray Dalio (@raydalio)
• LinkedIn: Ray Dalio
• YouTube: Principles by Ray Dalio
• Threads: Ray Dalio (@raydalio)

Personal Life

Ray Dalio is 76 years old, born on August 8, 1949.

He has been married only once, to Barbara Dalio (née Gabaldoni), whom he wed in the late 1970s. Sources differ slightly on whether their marriage began in 1976 or 1977, but the couple has remained together ever since.

Together, they have four sons. Their eldest, Devon Dalio, was born in 1978 and tragically passed away in 2020 at the age of 42 following a car accident. Their son, Paul Dalio, works as a filmmaker; Matthew Dalio—often referred to as Matt Dalio—founded the China Care Foundation and is the CEO of Endless Mobile; and Mark Dalio is known for his work as a wildlife filmmaker and photographer.

The family lives in Greenwich, Connecticut, and is heavily involved in charitable work through the Dalio Foundation, which supports a wide range of philanthropic initiatives.

Dalio’s height is 1.63 m, though he appears to be of average height in photographs.

Net Worth

Ray Dalio‘s net worth is estimated at approximately $15.4 billion, according to Forbes and several recent financial reports.

This figure reflects his decades of success as the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s largest hedge fund, which he fully exited in 2025 by selling his remaining stake (valued at around $6.8 billion at the time, per Bloomberg).

His wealth stems primarily from Bridgewater’s performance fees, investment returns, book royalties from bestsellers like Principles, and a diversified personal portfolio.

Dalio has also committed substantial portions to philanthropy through Dalio Philanthropies, pledging billions to causes such as ocean exploration and education.

Estimates vary slightly across sources—some place it closer to $16 billion—but $15.4 billion remains the most consistently cited figure from reliable trackers like Forbes.