Alex Gerko with XTX Markets - How an ex-Deutschbanker became a billionaire in trading The company XTX Markets of ex-Deutschbanker Alex Gerko trades gigantic volumes and made him a billionaire. There is a level on the stock exchange that even the fittest private investors can no longer reach. For example, when companies with a lot of money trade via a quantitative approach or via high-speed trading. And so a former mathematician from Deutsche Bank built up an extremely profitable company with XTX Markets. XTX Markets with gigantic trading volume The low interest rates and government stimulus that helped Wall Street post record trading profits during the pandemic may have abated. However, volatility remains high – and helps some players to find enormous wealth. Bloomberg is currently reporting: One of the beneficiaries is Alex Gerko. The mathematician and former Deutsche Bank employee who founded the trading company XTX Markets became a billionaire with 10,000 computer processors for statistical stock market analysis. His London-based firm uses a quantitative approach to trade nearly $300 billion in equities, commodities, currencies and fixed income on a daily basis. £1.3 billion payout In March, XTX paid out a dividend of almost £1.3 billion - more than triple last year's figure, according to filings with Companies House. Since 2020, more than £2billion of those dividends have gone to a Cayman Islands-registered company controlled by the 43-year-old, raising him to a fortune of $6 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index has. XTX spokesman Tim Moxon declined to comment on Gerko's net worth. Statistical models with trillions of observations Born in Russia and earning his PhD in mathematics from Moscow University, Gerko began his career as a stock trader at Deutsche Bank and later switched to forex trading. In 2009 he went to the hedge fund GSA Capital. He then founded the quant specialist XTX, which he owns 75%. XTX dispenses with proprietary traders and instead tries to automate as many processes as possible. For its transactions, it uses statistical models that analyze "trillions of noisy observations." The company now has branches in New York, Paris, Singapore, Mumbai and in Yerevan, Armenia. Gerko now has British citizenship. Strong position in equities and FX XTX has built a strong position in forex trading and European equities, according to Larry Tabb, head of market structure analysis at Bloomberg Intelligence. "They're expanding into US equities, but this market is a bit crowded," he said. In 2021, XTX earnings are up 42% yoy, reaching £667 million. Last year some 24 partners of the company shared a £557 million prize pool. In total, XTX employs more than 170 people. Gerko runs XTX together with Co-CEO Zar Amrolia, who also used to work for Deutsche Bank. Donate Gerko also donates part of his fortune to charitable causes, often related to mathematics: his Mathematics Education for Social Mobility and Excellence program supports high school students, a £15 million program supports students and scientists who are affected by the Russian attack on Ukraine were expelled. At the University of Oxford, XTX is sponsoring a new scholarship program for women PhD students in mathematics named after Maryam Mirzakhani, the Iranian mathematician who became the first woman to win the Fields Medal. FMW/Bloomberg