Alfred Winslow Jones

Former Fund Manager, A.W. Jones & Co.

The father of the hedge fund, Jones revolutionized the strategy of holding both long and short positions in a portfolio to insulate investors from market risk. The Australian-born Harvard graduate left his position as a Fortune editor in 1949 to manage $100,000 that he and several friends had invested. His strategies of short selling, using debt to enhance returns, and paying himself 20% of the fund's profits characterize many hedge funds today.