The Fund

Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend

By: Rob Copeland

Narrated by: Rob Copeland, Will Damron

This program features an author's note and epilogue read by the author.

The unauthorized, unvarnished story of famed Wall Street hedge-fund manager Ray Dalio.

Ray Dalio does not want you to listen to this audiobook.

Late last year, when the billionaire founder of Bridgewater Associates, the largest hedge fund on the planet, announced that he was stepping down from the company he started out of his apartment nearly 50 years ago, the news made headlines around the world. Dalio cultivated an aura of international admiration and fame thanks to his company’s eye-popping success, coupled with a mystique he encouraged with frequent media appearances, celebrity hobnobbing, and his bestselling book, Principles. In The Fund, award-winning New York Times journalist Rob Copeland punctures this carefully constructed narrative of the benevolent business titan, exposing his much-promoted “principles” as one of the great feats of hubris in modern memory—in practice, they encouraged a toxic culture of paranoia and backstabbing.

The Fund is a thrilling, stranger-than-fiction journey into a rarefied world of wealth and power. It offers an unflinching look at the pain so often caused by the “radical transparency” Dalio has described as a core tenet of his recipe for business success and a meaningful life. Drawing on hundreds of interviews with those inside and around the firm, Copeland takes listeners into the room as former FBI director Jim Comey kisses Dalio's ring, recent Pennsylvania Senate candidate David McCormick drinks the Kool-Aid, and a rotating cast of memorable characters grapple with their personal psychological and moral limits—all under the watchful eye of their charismatic leader.

This is a cautionary tale for anyone convinced that the ability to make lots of money has anything at all to do with unlocking the principles of human nature.

A Macmillan Audio production from St. Martin’s Press.

©2023 Rob Copeland (P)2023 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

“At last, the era of the billionaire philosopher-king has a defining book. The Fund is a taut, nonfiction thriller."—Bryan Burrough, author of Barbarians at the Gate

“A classic American story about the most famous man on Wall Street—or the person he seems to be. The Fund manages to both shock and entertain at the same time.”—Philipp Meyer, bestselling author of American Rust and The Son

"The most explosive, mind-blowing business book I've ever read—and the most fun, too."—Bradley Hope, co-author of the New York Times bestseller Billion Dollar Whale and Pulitzer Prize finalist

Best finance book I've read in years

Tremendous! Easily the most entertaining/funny finance book I've ever read. Dalio is probably the best example of failing upward in the history of business.
Get it now!

Fastinating - Ray IS so much smarter and principled than the rest of us.

Appreciate the look into how hypocritical a wealthy & powerful leader believes he is above the law and smarter than every one else. A fastinating example of how so many of our politicians , the wealthy and the powerful manipulate others into doing their bidding. Following Ray Dalio over the years I somehow sensed a hypocrisy and his false humility but I never imagined someone with such opportunity and resources could be such a selfish monster. He's got more money than he can ever spend but it can't buy him what he really wants, which is a good legacy!

Really well written and gripping.

This is an amazing untold story. Most people only know The Principles, which is a white-washed version of what Bridgewater stands for.

that Daliot is a psycho

the content was good but it was hard to listen to because Daliot is psycho.

Fantastic inside look into the world's largest hedge fund

Couldn't stop listening to this. Would probably listen to it again in the future for the pure entertainment value. Highly recommend!

If Dalio was so keen on the truth….

This is a well written book and I applaud Mr. Copland for not bowing to Ray’s pressure to not write it. Why does everyone who leaves BW threatened with lawsuits if RD is so keen to know the truth. RD verbally abused a lot of people!

Exceptional reporting

Incredibly well researched and written in a compelling and accessible manner. This is among the top five books I've read in 2023.

A Real Page-Turner!

I found ‘The Fund’ to be both captivating and entertaining. A real page-turner!

Highly recommend.

Nasty piece of work

This book is another indictment of toxic workplace environments that are all too common in our times

Surprising look at someone so lauded in the business world

Ray Dalio seems like so many powerful leaders after listening to this. Intoxicated by his success, he seeks deeper meaning with his Principles, yet like many cult leaders, the standards he holds others to are not applied to himself.