FB Roundup: Ray Dalio, Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler, Israel Englander
Hedge fund billionaire Ray Dalio to focus on running his family office full-time
Ray Dalio, the billionaire founder of American investment management firm Bridgewater Associates, has announced that he plans to focus on running his family office full time after leaving the world's largest hedge fund last year.
Having handed over the reins to the current management team – including appointing Nir Bar Dea as Chief Executive Officer – Dalio will direct his attentions to growing his family investment vehicle, albeit remaining available as a mentor to the new Bridgewater executives.
According to The National, when speaking at the Greenwich Economic Forum, “Dalio was asked about a report in the New York Times that he was considering a return to the Westport, Connecticut-based hedge fund he founded and ran for decades.
“When asked if he was coming back, the 74-year-old exclaimed, ‘that was such a wrong…’ before catching himself and leaving the audience with a different piece of advice: ‘Don't trust the media.’”
Dalio, who has a net worth of $16.5 billion according to Bloomberg’s billionaire index, also has plans to write another book following up on his acclaimed ‘Principles’ collection, while “savouring life and the things I like to do.”
Dalio’s family office is, meanwhile, branching out with a new office in Abu Dhabi and new hires in its existing hubs in the US and Singapore, according to Bloomberg.
Dalio famously launched Bridgewater in his two-bedroom apartment in the mid-1970s and stepped down as co-chief investment officer last October having finally settled on a new leadership team after a multi-year search.
Germany's Schaeffler family are considering boosting their presence in the electric vehicle supply chain
Germany’s billionaire Schaeffler family, one of the world’s largest producers of roller bearings, is considering a buyout of Vitesco Technologies Group in order to boost their presence in the electric vehicle supply chain, according to a report by Bloomberg News.
The family, which is led by Maria-Elisabeth Schaeffler and her son Georg F. W. Schaeffler who also control Schaeffler AG, already own 49.9% of Vitesco. Schaeffler AG is expected to launch a tender offer valuing the company at €3.64 billion ($3.8 billion).
According to Bloomberg, “the Schaeffler family controls auto-part makers Vitesco, Schaeffler and Continental AG, and is reshaping its industrial empire as the shift toward EVs accelerates. The Schaeffler-Vitesco deal would combine the former’s mechanical presence with the latter’s capabilities in power electronics,” Schaeffler Chief Executive Officer Klaus Rosenfeld said in a phone interview.
“The combined company will see the Schaeffler family’s holding company as joint shareholder and will employ more than 120,000 people. The company expects to finance about €1.8 billion of the offer, following an agreement with two family-controlled entities that hold 49.9% of Vitesco. Debt levels as part of the takeover are expected to start declining from next year,” Rosenfeld said.
Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen’s villa sold to Israel Englander
The sprawling French Riviera villa owned by the late Microsoft co-founder Paul Allen has been sold to Israel Englander, the founder of hedge fund firm Millennium Management, according to filings seen by Bloomberg.
The property, which is called Villa Maryland, is set in the exclusive Saint-Jean-Cap-Ferrat peninsula in the South of France and is believed to have been sold for at least €100 million ($105 million).
According to The National, Villa Maryland overlooks “the sea and is surrounded by four hectares of Roman-style terraced gardens, the 18-bedroom villa measures 2,500 square metres (27,000 square feet) and features a cloister supported by red marble pillars.
“It was built in 1904 at the request of Arthur Wilson, a British friend of King Edward VII, and hosted receptions attended by Winston Churchill. After its purchase, Allen famously visited the villa during summers from his super yacht called Octopus.”
Allen, who had no partner or children when he passed away from cancer at the age of 65 in 2018, pledged that proceeds from the sale of his estate assets would go to philanthropic causes. As executor of his will and trustee of his estate, Allen’s sister Jody Allen has overseen numerous property and asset sales since his passing, including 60 artworks from his collection for a record-breaking $1.5 billion last year.
