Victor Niederhoffer, Computer-Driven Trading Pioneer, Dies at 82
Updated
Updated · The New York Times · Aug 21
Victor Niederhoffer, Computer-Driven Trading Pioneer, Dies at 82
1 articles · Updated · The New York Times · Aug 21
Summary
Victor Niederhoffer, the trader who helped pioneer computer-based bets on short-term stock and commodity moves, died Aug. 4 at his home in Weston, Connecticut; his family confirmed he was 82.
Niederhoffer built a fortune with a volatile, data-driven strategy that made and lost vast sums twice, turning him into one of Wall Street’s most emblematic boom-and-bust speculators.
Andrew Lo of MIT said Niederhoffer’s curiosity was “insatiable,” reflecting a reputation for eccentric habits and a 20,000-square-foot Tudor mansion that doubled as a trading post and personal museum.
Born to a police officer and a teacher in Brooklyn’s Brighton Beach, Niederhoffer said the neighborhood’s constant games and wagers formed the speculative instincts he later described in his 1997 memoir, “The Education of a Speculator.”