Ray Dalio was born in 1949. He bought his first stock, Northeast Airlines when he was just 12 years old. It was the early 1960's and he used the money he had earned as a caddy. The shares tripled in value. Ray Dalio went on to graduate from Long Island University in 1971. He spent some time as a clerk on the NYSE before going to Harvard Business School and graduating with an MBA in 1973. That same year, Ray Dalio became Director of Commodities at Dominick & Dominick LLC. He worked there for one year, and then spent a year trading futures at the brokerage firm of Shearson Hayden Stone before founding his Bridgewater Associates in 1973. In July 2011, Ray Dalio officially gave up his role as CEO of Bridgewater Associates, instead taking the title "Mentor." He continues to serve as co-CIO, a position he shares with Robert Prince and Greg Jensen.