First, the theoretical "absence" of something or inability to prove it's existence, does not preclude it's existence. Second, if you think about all the liabilities of exposure, such as additional taxes and/or attention from federal authorities, security risks, etc., then you realize that there is very little impetus for exposure. I know several people who have personal fortunes in the hundreds of millions (not from trading) and they keep a VERY low profile. No lists or big parties, attention drawing houses, etc. They want to enjoy their money quietly and peacefully.
You sound like you just got off the train. 100% returns? Maybe if you are trading a miniscule account. If you can *compound* your capital at 20% to 25% per annum you will be a trading superstar.
Excerpt: "This man(29-years-old) is most famous Japanese individual stock day trader named Takashi Kotegawa, his nickname is âB・N・Fâ. He has increased his own fund from 1.6 million yen($13,600) to 18 billion yen($153 million) for 8 year or so (I have ever introduced his information to FF members in May)." http://www.japanprobe.com/2008/05/20/takashi-kotegawa-bnf-super-day-trader/
Ed Seykota did a return of 250,000 % in 16 years , running a few hundred bucks into millions with his own account http://74.125.95.132/search?q=cache...seykota+track+record&cd=4&hl=en&ct=clnk&gl=us
I did, there are 3 other guys mentioned here: "The bottom line is there are other traders, we never hear about, making 8 figure profits. If Rotter's trading style did not attract attention then we would have never heard of him. If Rotter and others can do it, then maybe you can to. Remember, trading is very risky and you will lose all your money if you do not know what you are doing and when to do it. So please do not trade unless you are ready and willing to accept and take personal responsibility for the outcome. In January 1998, Kinski, Rotter and some other traders formed a Dublin-based prop-trading firm, Greenhouse Capital Management. Rotter's balls-to-the-wall modus operandi helped Greenhouse prosper, but not without some tense moments. The firm began life with $1.3 million in seed capital and featured, in addition to Kinski and Rotter, two other standout own-accounters, Pino Curcio and Florian Albrecht, the latter one of Rotter's closes boyhood pals. As a unit, they worked well together, though Rotter was clearly the star. "It was do or die," Kinski recalls. "We knew Paul would have these large positions -- in one day we could have been out of business." By the end of its first day, Greenhouse was up $526,000. Within three months the firm had made $6.5 million, though not without ruffling some feathers. "Paul has sometimes played a controversial role," Kinski acknowledges. "Some traders didn't like him because he was changing his position so quickly." In 2001, Rotter formed Rotter Invest and eventually moved his operations to Zug, Switzerland, an affluent town that's home to its share of traders..." http://i-found-my-holygrail.blogspot.com/2005/09/worlds-most-successful-trader-paul.html There is also an interview with him translated from German at the above address... What is interesting that no news about him in the last 4 years....
Interesting Wiki entry: J-Com Co order misplacement On December 8, 2005 an order from Mizuho Securities meant to sell 1 share of J-Com Co for 610,000 yen was mistakenly entered as a sale of 610,000 shares at 1 yen, resulting in an estimate loss of US$347 million. Following the incident, though a considerable number of firms who had profited from the order misplacement agreed to hand back their earnings (41.38%), a good number of individual traders refused to do so, as they were not obliged under Japanese law. Such was the case of B.N.F, who managed to amass, in a period of just ten minutes, a figure of 2 billion yen (approx. US$20 million).