The Hunter's Prey
- Predicted Black Monday weeks before it happened
- Made 200% returns while market crashed 22.6%
- Studied the 1929 crash patterns obsessively
- Used Elliott Wave Theory to time the collapse
- Net worth today: $8.1 billion
The Man Who Smelled Blood
Most traders fear market crashes. They run. They hide. They panic.
Paul Tudor Jones hunts them.
In the summer of 1987, while Wall Street partied and stocks soared to new highs, Paul saw something different. He saw the same patterns that appeared before the 1929 crash. And he knew what was coming.
"When I looked at the charts of 1987 compared to 1929... it was like looking in a mirror. The same euphoria. The same overconfidence. The same setup for disaster."
— Paul Tudor Jones
While others saw opportunity, Paul saw a ticking time bomb. And instead of running away, he positioned himself to profit from the explosion.
The Pattern He Saw: 1929 vs 1987
Two eras, one terrifying patternFrom Cotton to Billions
Paul Tudor Jones didn't start on Wall Street. He started trading cotton futures in Memphis, Tennessee, fresh out of college.
But even then, he was different. While other traders focused on fundamentals — supply, demand, weather — Paul obsessed over price patterns and market psychology.
"TRADER" — The Documentary
In 1987, PBS released a rare documentary following Paul as he predicted and traded the crash. He later tried to buy every copy to keep his methods secret. It's now one of the most sought-after trading films ever made.
He paid to suppress it — that's how valuable his methods wereIn 1980, he founded Tudor Investment Corp with just $1.5 million. Within 7 years, he would turn it into one of the most successful hedge funds in history — all by hunting market crashes.
The Hunt: A Timeline
Here's exactly how Paul Tudor Jones stalked and captured the biggest crash in modern history:
While The World Burned...
On October 19, 1987, most of Wall Street experienced the worst day of their careers. Many never recovered. But for Paul Tudor Jones, it was payday.
"Every trader has blown up at some point. I've seen it happen. The difference is: I was ready for this one because I studied history."
— Paul Tudor Jones
🎯 PTJ's Crash Indicator
What he was watching in October 1987October 1987: All indicators screaming MAXIMUM DANGER
The Hunter's Toolkit
How did Paul Tudor Jones see what nobody else could? He used a combination of tools that most traders ignored:
Elliott Wave Theory
Markets move in predictable waves. Paul mastered identifying where we are in the cycle — and when the big wave down is coming.
Historical Fractals
Human psychology doesn't change. The patterns of 1929 repeat because humans make the same emotional mistakes.
Contrarian Thinking
When everyone is euphoric, get scared. When everyone is scared, get greedy. He bet against the crowd at the perfect moment.
Risk Management
"Losers average losers." He never added to losing positions and always protected his capital first.
Technical Analysis
Price tells you everything. He watched support levels, trend lines, and volume to time his entries perfectly.
Speed & Conviction
When he saw the setup, he committed fully. No hesitation. Fortune favors the bold who've done their homework.
PTJ's Golden Rules
These are the principles that made Paul Tudor Jones a billionaire — and kept him one:
Defense Wins
"The most important rule of trading is to play great defense, not great offense."
Never Average Down
"Losers average losers." If a position is going against you, get out — don't double down.
Wait for the Perfect Pitch
Don't trade every day. Wait for the setups that have massive asymmetric payoffs.
Know When You're Wrong
"I'm always thinking about losing money as opposed to making money." Survival first, profits second.
The Philosophy of a Crash Hunter
Paul Tudor Jones doesn't just trade markets — he understands human nature. He knows that fear and greed create predictable patterns.
"At the end of the day, your job is to buy what goes up and to sell what goes down."
— Paul Tudor Jones
But here's the key insight most people miss: he doesn't try to be right all the time. He tries to be positioned for massive wins when he IS right, and small losses when he's wrong.
The math is simple: If you risk $1 to make $5, you only need to be right 20% of the time to break even. Be right 40% of the time, and you're rich.
The Legend Continues
Today, Paul Tudor Jones is worth over $8 billion. He still runs Tudor Investment Corp. And he's still hunting.
In 2020, he called Bitcoin "the fastest horse in the race" against inflation. In 2022, he warned about the danger of easy money policies. Time and time again, his predictions prove accurate.
His secret isn't a magic formula or insider information. It's this:
Study history. Understand psychology. Respect risk. And when you see the pattern forming — have the courage to act.
Paul Tudor Jones turned $1.5 million into a multi-billion dollar empire by doing what most traders are too afraid to do: betting against the crowd at exactly the right moment.
"The secret to being successful from a trading perspective is to have an indefatigable and an undying and unquenchable thirst for information and knowledge."
— Paul Tudor Jones