David M. Rubenstein is the New York Times bestselling author of How to Lead, The American Experiment, and The American Story. He is cofounder and cochairman of The Carlyle Group, one of the world’s largest and most successful private equity firms. Rubenstein is Chairman of the Boards of the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the Council on Foreign Relations, and the National Gallery of Art. He is an original signer of The Giving Pledge and a recipient of the Carnegie Medal of Philanthropy and the MoMA’s David Rockefeller Award. The host of Bloomberg Wealth with David Rubenstein on Bloomberg TV and The David Rubenstein Show: Peer-to-Peer Conversations on Bloomberg TV and PBS, he lives in the Washington, DC, area.

Ray Dalio is the founder, Co-Chief Investment Officer and Co-Chairman of Bridgewater Associates, a global macroeconomic investment management firm and the largest hedge fund in the world. Ray started Bridgewater out of his two-bedroom apartment in New York in 1975 and under his guidance, has grown the firm into the 5^th most important company in the U.S., according to Fortune Magazine, and has led it to make more money for clients than any other hedge fund since its inception, according to LCH Investments.

Ray has been a global macro investor for more than 50 years, which has required him to gain a deep understanding of global economics and investing. Under his guidance, Bridgewater has introduced several industry-changing approaches to investing, including risk parity, the separation of alpha and beta, and currency overlay strategies. For his innovative work as well as being a valued advisor to many global policy makers, Ray has also been called the “Steve Jobs of Investing” by CIO Magazine and Wired Magazine, and has been named one of TIME Magazine’s 100 Most Influential People.

Ray is also an acclaimed author, having twice-over made The New York Times Bestsellers list with his books Principles: Life and Work (released in 2017; reached #1 on the list) and Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order (released in 2021; reached #2 on the list). Principles outlines Ray’s principles for work and life, the foundation of Bridgewater’s distinctive culture that strives to create “meaningful work and meaningful relationships through radical truth and radical transparency;” Ray also attributes them as the key to his and Bridgewater’s success. As a result of the book’s popularity, Ray distilled it into an engaging and easy-to-read illustrated novel for readers of all ages – Principles for Success (released 2019). Changing World Order, comprises Ray’s multi-year, in-depth study of the last 500 years of history to determine what causes empires to succeed and fail as world powers. In 2018, he and Bridgewater co-published Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises, the first public dissemination of their research on these economic events, which enabled them to anticipate the 2008 Global Financial Crisis.

Ray graduated with a B.S. in Finance from C.W. Post College in 1971 and holds an MBA degree from Harvard Business School circa 1973. He has been married to his wife, Barbara, for more than 40 years and is an active philanthropist with a special interest in ocean exploration, microfinance and equal educational opportunities for underprivileged youth. For his work in this space, he has been named one of the 50 largest philanthropists in the U.S., according to Forbes Magazine.