I'd say someone like Marty Schwartz.... -guy left a safe analyst job to go out and trade on his own in the late 1970s. -started with $30,000 and turned it into $20 million. -did not have the benefit of OPM, was not a fund manager, market maker, trading educator, newsletter salesman, introducing broker, carnival barker, etc. -no other income to fall back on besides trading profits. -claims he only had 3 losing months during his first 10 years on his own. -claims he had a streak of 44 consecutive winning months. Most importantly: -kept his winnings (did not blow up). To me a guy like him is the ultimate role model for aspiring/wannabe retail traders. If I could spend an hour interviewing to one trader dead or alive, he would be the guy I'd like to speak to...followed by Michael Marcus (largely because of how Marcus seemed to have vanished off the face of the earth). Methods (as discussed in his book 'Pit Bull'): -caught the parabolic move in gold in the late 70s/80s, made a ton of money trading options on ASA (from his book). -eventually migrated and traded the S&P 500 contract when it first came out, primarily scalping in and out during the day. -said in a more recent interview that he moved to trading oil futures, in the late 2000s, and was now selling premium due to the size of his bankroll.
Warren Buffett. Became the third richest man in the world, not by inventing or creating anything, but simply by investing in other companies. He more of a long term investor than a short term trader, and has lost a bit of his touch over the past few years, but overall he still gets my vote.
Tom Baldwin, Charly di Francesca and Paul Rotter. I like their styles and stories very much. But who was really the best... ? What does "the best" mean, what makes a good trader, how do you measure it, how do you compare the countless different styles ? I think everybody has his own favourites and heroes, and these are mine
susquehanna seems to know what they're doing. a lot of trading firms were created by their ex-employees