James Vogl

James Vogl travelled the world backgammon circuit when he should have been studying at the London School of Economics, graduating to become a professional poker player. Winning a World Series of Poker bracelet and $400,000 in Vegas on his first attempt at 23, he turned his attention to another form of professional gambling—the markets. Landing a trading job at Goldman Sachs by chance, he went on to manage a $1.6 billion portfolio for a pre-eminent US macro hedge fund, a decade later.