In today’s markets, FOREX trading has developed a contentious reputation. On the one hand, it is regarded as the most popular type of online trading, but on the other, some critics contend that it is essentially impossible to turn a real profit from currency exchange.

For starters, it is important to understand the idea behind FOREX trading. The word “FOREX” stands for “FOReign EXchange”. The principle is very simple: you trade one currency against another and gain profit from the changes in their values.

In this article, we seek to debunk the notion that currency trading cannot be profitable, by presenting 5 real-life investors who have made their fortunes through FOREX trading in one form or another.

Bruce Kovner

Bruce Kovner was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1945.

He didn’t start trading until 1977, when he was 32 years old and for his first trade, he opted to take a huge risk by borrowing against his personal credit card in order to invest in soybean futures contracts, a gamble that paid off by netting him $22,000 in profit!

Kovner built a solid industry reputation after joining Commodities Corporation as a trader, generating millions in profits for the company.

In 1983, Kovner founded Caxton Associates, which would become one of the most successful macro hedge funds in the world, with more than $12 billion in assets.

The Caxton associates profits and management fees were split between financial (mainly FOREX) and commodity positions, making Kovner one of the most popular traders in the FOREX industry, up until his retirement in 2011.

Bill Lipschutz

Bill Lipschutz started his trading career when he was still a student at Cornell University in the late 70s. He started with a $12,000 investment, which he quickly converted to $250,000.

As luck would have it, he unfortunately ended up losing all his profits after one bad trading decision, which led him to learn a valuable lesson about the importance of risk management.

Armed with this new knowledge and determined not to repeat the mistakes of the past, Lipschutz started working for Solomon Brothers around 1981 while at the same time pursuing his MBA degree from Cornell.
He eventually migrated into the newly formed foreign exchange division of Solomon Brothers at a time when FOREX trading was exploding in popularity. His knowledge and intuition turned him into an immediate success, as by 1985, he was earning $300 million-plus per year for the company.

It wasn’t long before he was promoted to the principal trader for the firm’s sizeable FOREX account in 1984, a position which he held up until 1990, after which he moved to Hathersage Capital Management, as the Director of Portfolio Management.

Andy Krieger

Andy Krieger left Salomon Brothers to join Banker’s Trust in 1986. He rose to trading stardom, building an almost instant reputation as a successful trader, which led to the company rewarding him by increasing his capital limit from the standard $50 million to an almost unheard of, $700 million.

Krieger was able to take advantage of this and make a sizeable profit from the historic market crash of October 19, 1987, which is now known as “Black Monday.”

His strategy involved focusing on the New Zealand Dollar (NZD) which he correctly believed to be susceptible to short selling as part of the worldwide panic in financial assets.

He then used foreign currency options to greatly leverage his exposure, which combined with his already high trading limit, acquired him a short position that may have rivaled even the New Zealand money supply.

His diligence paid off by netting him $300 million in profit, for Banker’s Trust. He would resign the following year as he felt underappreciated by receiving what he perceived as a measly $3 million bonus (approximately).

Stanley Druckenmiller

Stanley Druckenmiller began his financial career in 1977 as a management trainee at the Pittsburgh National Bank. Before long, he earned a reputation as a successful trader, and by 1980, he was able to form his own company, Duquesne Capital Management.

Druckenmiller would go on to successfully manage funds for George Soros for several years in his capacity as chief strategist for the Quantum Fund between 1988 and 2000.

He also worked with Soros on the infamous Bank of England trade, which skyrocketed his rise to FOREX trading stardom.

In 1992, he was featured in the best selling book “The New Market Wizards,” which further solidified him as an irresistible force in the trading world.
In a surprising move, after surviving the 2008 economic collapse, Druckenmiller closed down his hedge fund. According to his own admission, the reason was because he felt worn down by the constant need to maintain his impeccable track record.

George Soros

Considered by many to be the G.O.A.T., George Soros is widely regarded as arguably the most famous FOREX trader of all time.

Born in Budapest, Hungary in 1930, he began his financial career at Singer & Friedlander in London, in 1947.

After a successful career in several financial firms, he would eventually create Soros Fund Management in 1973, which would become a highly successful firm, generating $22 billion in profits, in August 1998.

But the legend of George Soros, would only be solidified in 1992, when he became known as “the trader who broke the bank of England.”

The monicker was given to him after a successful trade that netted him a profit of ￡1 billion after short-selling a reported $10 billion in British Pound Sterling (GBP). The result of Soros’s trade forced the United Kingdom to withdraw the currency from the European Exchange Rate Mechanism, on September 16, 1992 as it was unable to maintain the required trading band, aday that is historically referred to as “Black Wednesday.”

This incredible trade garnered world-wide recognition for George Soros, establishing him as one of the greatest traders of all time. In 2021, Soros was on the list of the 300 wealthiest people in the world!

The success stories of these traders prove beyond any doubt that FOREX trading can be a lucrative venture. The common denominator, of course, is the proper knowledge and willingness to take risks. No one should expect to become a millionaire through FOREX trading from one day to the next, but given the right amount of time, knowledge, and patience , not to mention the right broker, any trader has the ability to write their own success story.

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