Millionaire Traders

 Millionaire Traders

How many times have you heard the often-quoted statistic that

90 percent of all traders fail? Yet everyday, millions of ordinary

people around the world wake up, turn on their computer, and

try to make a living by trading the financial markets electronically.

As in every profession, there are successes and failures. The same

statistic of failure exists in the restaurant business, especially in our

hometown, New York City. New restaurants spring up on a near

daily basis, some are successful, most fail, but the possibility of

hitting it big never deters people from trying.

We have found 12 people who have hit it big trading for them-

selves. These are not hedge fund managers or employees of big

money center banks, but regular people who started with as little

as $1,000 and turned their small initial stakes into a six- to seven-

figure fortunes. These people come from all walks of life, live all

over the world and trade a variety of electronic markets. Some

of the traders focus on equities, others on futures or foreign ex-

change. Each has a very different style of trading, some that are

even in direct conflict with each other, highlighting the fact that

there are many paths to success in the financial markets. However,

all of these traders practice discipline, stick with their strategy, and

always cut their losses. None of our interviewees were successful

from the start. Several have blown up at least one trading account.

But instead of walking away from the markets, they learned from

their early failures and used that experience to improve and ulti-

mately succeed. We convinced them to share their stories and tell

us how they got started, their best and worst trades, their number

one rule of trading, and the many lessons that they have learned

through their experience. We hope these stories inspire you to be-

lieve that success is possible and that everyday people can beat Wall

Street at its own game.

Kathy and Boris

New York

September 2007