I wonder if he's happy or if he's carrying around a lifelong grudge because a) he hasn't made the super-mega bucks and people of markedly less intelligence have, and, b) now that he's an acadmic/intellectual/essayist/thinker, or whatever it is he calls himself, he's still not at the heights of "the academy" and he's probably never going to win a Nobel prize, which of course has been bestowed on many smaller minds. I watched a long talk (YouTube) given by Taleb and Nobelist Daniel Kahneman, and as Taleb entered the stage, the first thing he did, and continued for the next five minutes (it seemed), was complain about the lights. Kahneman just sat there, bemused.
I am telling you it is hogs. Even our RM lost a shitload when trying to short them, making it his first bad call. They are up like 45% since early February....
He cannot short and he doesn't use TA to find support and resistance. Hope this is not true. On a risk adjusted basis Taleb has been outstanding
Soros, Tudor Jones, Dalio, Steinhardt, Kovner, Druckenmiller et al would be on the list for greatest living speculator. Vic Niederhoffer would be on the list of failed living speculators tbf. I recall having to correct his statistical inferences which had no merit some years ago. I've posted on the forum somewhere about it. The man lacks method as Taleb once wrote. helmhotz (surf), i admire your loyalty to the man. Unfortunately, in terms of trading and speculation, your loyalty does you a disfavour.
VN is a tiny minnow swimming with the likes of the palindrome. But over all he has returned far more to his investors than he lost.
He has treated me decently in my few conversations/meetings. Here's a review of his book party--- http://www.dailyspeculations.com/wordpress/?p=1386