Bruce Kovner

Infobox Person


image_size = 150px
name = Bruce Kovner
caption = Bruce Kovner
birth_date = 1945
birth_place = Brooklyn, New York
United States
death_date =
death_place =
occupation = American businessman
founder, Chairman, Caxton Associates, LLC
spouse =

Bruce Stanley Kovner (born 1945 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American businessman. He is the founder and Chairman of Caxton Associates, LLC, a hedge fund that trades a global macro strategy and is considered amongst the worlds top and largest 10 hedge funds with an estimated $14 billion under management [http://www.streetinsider.com/entities/Caxton+Associates] . Kovner is also the Chairman of the American Enterprise Institute, the premiere American neoconservative think tank. In 2006, Kovner had an estimated net worth of around $2.5 billion.Citation
url=http://www.forbes.com/lists/2006/10/6OQE.html
title= Forbes 250 Richest Americans: #292 Bruce Kovner
publisher=Forbes.com
date=September 8, 2005]

Described as secretive even by family and friends, the 61-year old divorcee is perhaps one of the least known New York City billionaires outside of professional circles. His Caxton Associates despite the large amount of assets under management is known to be amongst the top 25 most enigmatic and secretive hedge funds globally. [http://www.hedgefundreader.com/2007/01/the_25_most_int.html]

Biography

Bruce Kovner's Jewish family came to Brooklyn, New York, in the early 1900s from Tsarist Russia, fleeing persecution for their Communist beliefs. Two of Kovner's fathers' cousins faced the House Un-American Activities Committee in the 1950s, pleading the Fifth Amendment. However, Bruce's father, Moishe Kovner, was more conservative than his kin, at one point even crossing a picket line to work.Fact|date=July 2008

Bruce Kovner grew up in the San Fernando Valley, where his father had moved the family in 1953. Early on, he was a high achiever, becoming a Merit Scholar. He was the student-body president of Van Nuys High School at 16, and an accomplished basketball player.

Kovner went to Harvard College starting in 1962, a time marred by the hanging suicide of his mother back in his family's Van Nuys home. Nonetheless, he was considered a good student and was well liked by his classmates. Avoiding the Vietnam draft by student deferment (when it was still available), Kovner stayed in Harvard, studying political science closely under prominent conservative scholar Edward C. Banfield, who reportedly had great faith and admiration for the young Kovner.

Kovner did not finish his Ph.D., having suffered a severe case of writer's block and overreached in his choice of subject matter. Over the next few years, he engaged in a number of eclectic efforts; he worked on political campaigns, studied the harpsichord, was a writer, and a cab driver. It was during the latter occupation, not long after his marriage to now ex-wife Sarah Peter, that he discovered commodities trading.

Business

Kovner's first trade was for $3,000, borrowed against his MasterCard, in soybean futures contracts. Realizing growth to $40,000, he then watched the contract drop to $23,000 before selling. He later claimed that this first, nerve-racking trade taught him the importance of risk management.

In his eventual role as a trader under the legendary Michael Marcus at Commodities Corporation (now part of Goldman Sachs), he purportedly made millions and gained widespread respect as an objective and sober trader.Fact|date=January 2008 This ultimately led to the establishment of his current company, Caxton Associates, in 1983, which today manages over $10 billion in capital and has been closed to new investors since 1992.

Kovner is not well known outside of professional circles. He has very rarely given interviews, and is notoriously private. His 5th Avenue Mansion in New York City features a lead-lined room to protect against a chemical, biological, or dirty bomb attack. [ [http://nymag.com/nymetro/news/people/features/12353/index5.html "New York Magazine" - George Soros's Right-Wing Twin] ]

Philanthropy and politics

A patron of the arts and a particular devotee of opera (he is on the board of the Metropolitan Opera at Lincoln Center), Kovner is an avid collector of rare books and classical music manuscripts and has given millions to art projects and art institutions, notably the Juilliard School (of which he is Chairman). [ [http://www.juilliard.edu/about/leaders.html Juilliard (About) - Leaders] ] He is a primary funder of the expansion of Lincoln Center and the publisher of many works, including what some consider the finest modern illustrated bible. He is also founder and Chairman of the School Choice Scholarships Foundation, which awards scholarships to financially disadvantaged youth in New York City.

Kovner has contributed extensively to conservative causes. He is the Chairman of the board of trustees of the American Enterprise Institute, for which Caxton Associates manages most investments.Fact|date=February 2007 His close acquaintances include Vice President Dick Cheney,Fact|date=January 2008 neoconservative figures Richard Perle and James Q. Wilson, as well as a wide range of government officials from all over the world - relationships which many consider contribute to Kovner's insight into commodities markets worldwide. He is a major backer of the conservative Manhattan Institute, and the The New York Sun daily newspaper.

References

External links

* [http://www.printthis.clickability.com/pt/cpt?action=cpt&title=Bruce+Covner+-+George+Soros%02019s+Right-Wing+Twin&expire=&urlID=14936924&fb=Y&url=http%3A%2F%2Fnewyorkmetro.com%2Fnymetro%2Fnews%2Fpeople%2Ffeatures%2F12353%2Findex4.html&partnerID=73272 In-Depth Article about Bruce Kovner]

Further reading

cite book
last = Schwager
first = Jack D.
authorlink = Jack D. Schwager
title = Market Wizards: Interviews with Top Traders
publisher = Collins; Reissue edition
year = 1993
location = 36 pages
isbn = 0-88730-610-1