Jim Simons
Born 1938 · Age 87
American mathematician, code breaker, hedge-fund founder (Renaissance Technologies), and philanthropist; developer of the Chern–Simons form and major benefactor via the Simons Foundation.
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Life & Career Timeline
Born in Massachusetts
Born April 25, 1938 in Newton (raised in Brookline), Massachusetts to Marcia and Matthew Simons.
Bachelor's degree, MIT
Graduated from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology with a bachelor's degree in mathematics.
Motor-scooter trip to Bogotá
Between MIT and graduate school, rode motor scooters from Boston to Bogotá, Colombia (anecdotal travel/ formative experience).
Taught at MIT and Harvard (early academic posts)
Brief teaching appointments at MIT and Harvard after earning his doctorate.
Ph.D. in Mathematics, UC Berkeley
Earned a doctorate in mathematics from the University of California, Berkeley (thesis on differential geometry / holonomy).
Joined Institute for Defense Analyses; worked with NSA
Joined IDA's Communications Research Division and worked on code-breaking projects for the NSA.
Published key mathematics papers (late 1960s)
Published influential papers including 'Minimal Cones' (1967) and 'Minimal Varieties in Riemannian Manifolds' (1968).
Spoke out against the Vietnam War (letter to NYT)
Publicly opposed the Vietnam War (letter to The New York Times, and statements to press), which later contributed to his dismissal from IDA.
Fired from IDA; joined Stony Brook
Dismissed from IDA due to anti-war activities; subsequently accepted the position to head the Mathematics Department at Stony Brook University.
Chair, Stony Brook Mathematics Department
Became chair of Stony Brook University's Department of Mathematics (youngest chair in university history), leading the department 1968–1978.
Work on Chern–Simons form recognized (long-term impact)
His mathematical contributions (Chern–Simons invariants) later became foundational in topology and quantum field theory (recognized over decades).
Chern–Simons collaborative work begins
Published with Shiing-Shen Chern on characteristic classes; development of what became the Chern–Simons form/invariants.
Attacked IBM 'Lucifer' block cipher
IBM asked him to analyze / attack the Lucifer block cipher (precursor to DES), reflecting his cryptography expertise.
Published 'Characteristic Forms and Geometric Invariants'
With Chern published their 1974 paper that introduced geometric measurements, eventually called Chern–Simons invariants.
Divorced Barbara Bluestein
Divorce from first wife Barbara Simons finalized (year cited in sources as 1974).
Oswald Veblen Prize in Geometry
Awarded the American Mathematical Society's Oswald Veblen Prize for his work including discovery of Chern–Simons invariants.
Married Marilyn Hawrys
Married Marilyn Hawrys (later co-founder of the Simons Foundation and long-time partner in philanthropy).
Left academia to start Monemetrics
Resigned as chair at Stony Brook and founded Monemetrics — a statistical/trading firm — near Stony Brook; later renamed Renaissance Technologies.
Early attempt to start trading company 'iStar' (failed)
While at IDA/early career, attempted to start a trading concern named iStar with colleagues; project was discovered by management and failed.
Monemetrics renamed Renaissance Technologies
Monemetrics officially renamed Renaissance Technologies and expanded quantitative trading operations.
Founded Simons Summer Research Program
Founded a summer research program (Simons Summer Research Program) to support high school students doing research with faculty mentors.
Launched Medallion Fund
Renaissance established the Medallion Fund, a highly secretive, employee-only quantitative fund that became extraordinarily profitable.
Medallion long-term performance milestone (aggregate report)
Medallion Fund later reported to have earned over $100 billion in trading profits since its 1988 inception (reporting window cited to 2018).
Simons Foundation begins major philanthropic expansion
Foundation expanded grantmaking to mathematics, physics, theoretical computer science, neuroscience and outreach over the following decades.
Co-founded Simons Foundation
Jim and Marilyn Simons founded the Simons Foundation to support research in mathematics and fundamental sciences.
Son Paul killed in bicycle accident
Son Paul (age 34) was killed in Long Island in a bicycle-car accident; this tragedy later inspired creation of Avalon Nature Preserve in his memory.
Established Avalon Nature Preserve (in memory of son Paul)
Created the Avalon Nature Preserve in Stony Brook in memory of his son Paul; preserve initially reported as 130 acres (later expanded).
Simons Foundation launched SFARI (autism research)
Following a 2003 roundtable, the Simons Foundation created the Simons Foundation Autism Research Initiative (SFARI) to fund autism research.
Son Nicholas drowned in Bali
Son Nicholas (age 24) drowned while on a trip to Bali; led to philanthropic support for Nepali healthcare via the Nick Simons Institute.
Founded Math for America
Established Math for America, a nonprofit to attract and support outstanding math teachers in NYC public schools, with an initial pledge of $25 million.
Opened Renaissance's Medallion (and secretive operations) to public reporting
The model and operations of Medallion remained secret; media began profiling Renaissance and Simons as the quant revolution spread.
Financial Engineer of the Year / Financial Times recognition
Named Financial Engineer of the Year by the International Association of Financial Engineers; Financial Times called him 'the world's smartest billionaire' that year.
Donated $25M to Stony Brook (largest SUNY gift at time)
Simons and Marilyn donated $25 million to Stony Brook University—the largest donation to a SUNY school at the time.
Doubled Math for America pledge to $50M
Committed to doubling the Math for America pledge (Simons Foundation increased support to bring the pledge to $50 million total).
Renaissance Institutional funds AUM milestone (by 2019 figure)
As of April 2019 Renaissance managed roughly $55 billion in outside-investor funds (RIEF, RIDA, etc.); firm overall AUM later reported higher (~$106B by 2024).
Reported annual compensation spikes (2004–2007)
Media reported very large personal earnings in mid-2000s: $670M (2004), $1.5B (2005), $1.7B (2006), $2.8B (2007) in various years as reported compensation/earnings.
Public scrutiny over fund performance disparities
Investors and press questioned disparity between Medallion's performance (employee-only) and outsider funds such as RIEF which underperformed during 2008.
Delivered motor yacht 'Archimedes'
Motor yacht Archimedes, built by Royal Van Lent, was delivered to Simons (superyacht purchase / personal asset).
Inducted into Hedge Fund Manager Hall of Fame
Named to Institutional Investor Alpha's Hedge Fund Manager Hall of Fame.
Announced $60M gift for Simons Center for Geometry & Physics
Governor Eliot Spitzer announced a $60 million donation by the Simons Foundation to create the Simons Center for Geometry and Physics at Stony Brook.
Announced retirement as CEO of Renaissance
Announced he would retire effective January 1, 2010 but remain as non-executive chairman of Renaissance Technologies.
Retired as CEO; became nonexecutive chairman
Stepped down as Renaissance CEO and continued as chairman (nonexecutive), focusing more on philanthropy.
Simons' philanthropic matching challenge for medical research
Provided matching challenge gifts and seed funding to boost Stony Brook medical research and recruit faculty; catalyzed other donations.
Donated $150M to Stony Brook (record gift)
Jim and Marilyn gave $150 million to Stony Brook University to support life sciences, medical research, endowed chairs, and fellowships (broke their previous state record).
Pledged $60M to UC Berkeley (Simons Institute)
Simons Foundation pledged $60 million to UC Berkeley to establish the Simons Institute for the Theory of Computing.
Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy (ceremony involvement)
Simons participated in the Carnegie Medals of Philanthropy ceremony (sources show Simons as recipient/participant in 2013 ceremony coverage).
Reported historical Renaissance fund returns (Medallion 1988–2018)
Medallion Fund reported aggregate performance: ~66.1% average gross annual return and ~39.1% average net annual return between 1988 and 2018.
Reported personal compensation (~$1.2B)
Reported to have personally earned $1.2 billion in 2014 from Renaissance (compensation, fees, awards).
Elected to U.S. National Academy of Sciences
Elected as a member of the National Academy of Sciences acknowledging his scientific contributions.
Senate condemnation over tax treatment
U.S. Senate Permanent Subcommittee on Investigations criticized Renaissance's use of complex structures to treat short-term trading as long-term gains, alleging $6B+ in tax avoidance.
Gave TED talk / Rare interviews
Appeared in a long-format interview (TED/Numberphile and other appearances) reflecting on mathematics, management and life rules.
Honorary doctorates from York and Edinburgh
Awarded honorary degrees by York University and the University of Edinburgh (2016).
Established the Flatiron Institute
The Simons Foundation launched the Flatiron Institute in New York City to support computational science across disciplines.
Flatiron Institute growth milestone
By 2018–2020 the Flatiron Institute housed hundreds of computational researchers across multiple centers (major institutional milestone).
Asteroid 6618 Jimsimons named in his honor
The International Astronomical Union named asteroid 6618 Jimsimons after him in recognition of his contributions to mathematics and philanthropy.
MIT names Building 2 for James and Marilyn Simons
MIT named the mathematics building in honor of James '58 and Marilyn Simons following their philanthropy to MIT.
Honorary doctorate, Trinity College Dublin
Received an honorary doctorate from Trinity College Dublin.
Biography 'The Man Who Solved the Market' published
Gregory Zuckerman's book on Simons and Renaissance Technologies was released, chronicling his quant revolution.
Forbes net worth estimate (Oct 2019)
Forbes estimated Simons' net worth at roughly $21.6 billion in October 2019.
Simons Foundation grants to Berkeley & Simons Institute (2020)
Foundation announced new grants (e.g., $35.5M) and additional multi-million support to Berkeley's Simons Institute and affiliates.
Reported personal earnings (~$2.6B) in 2020
Reports estimated Simons personally earned ~$2.6 billion in 2020 from his firm's fees/compensation.
Agreed to pay billions to resolve IRS dispute
Simons and Renaissance insiders agreed in Sept 2021 to pay billions (reports up to ~$7B) to settle a long-running tax dispute over treating short-term trading as long-term gains.
Forbes net worth estimate (2023)
Forbes reported Simons had a net worth of approximately $30 billion in 2023 (Forbes 400 listing).
Simons Foundation gave $500M to Stony Brook
The Simons Foundation donated $500 million to Stony Brook University—the second-largest donation ever to a public university in U.S. history.
Avalon Nature Preserve extended to 216 acres
Avalon Nature Preserve (established in memory of son Paul) was extended to 216 acres in 2024.
Died in New York City
James H. Simons died peacefully on May 10, 2024, in New York City, surrounded by family.
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