Great Traders: Fascinating Facts About Richard Dennis

Richard J. Dennis is a legendary commodies trader who began trading at 17 years old and over time acquired the nickname “The Prince of the Pit”. Who was this fascinating man and how did he end up acquiring such a moniker? Here are some facts about his life that can answer those questions:

-Dennis was born in Chicago in January 1949. He became an order runner in the Chicago Mercantile Exchange when he was just 17 years old and a few years later he began trading for his own account at the MidAmerica Commodity Exchange, an entry-level floor where "mini" contracts were traded. Since there was a rule that traders had to be at least 21 years old he was his own runner and hired his own father to trade in his place in the pit.

-Although Dennis earned a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and he had accepted a scholarship for a graduate study in the same discipline he decided to continue trading and borrowed $1,600 from his family in order to do that. He spent $1,200 of those for a place at the exchange and that left him with just $400 to use for his actual trading. In about ten years Dennis had turned those $400 into $200,000,000. 

-He conducted the famous Turtle Experiment, proving that anyone could learn how to trade and trade immensely successfully.

Richard Dennis is a hugely successful trader who has certainly left a lasting mark on the trading world.