Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, speaks to CNBC on the floor of the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) in New York City, USA, on April 27, 2026.
Brendan McDiarmid | Reuters
Self-made billionaire Ray Dalio shares his wisdom about happiness and success, saying that wealth doesn’t actually determine fulfillment.
The Bridgewater Associates founder has a net worth of about $22 billion, placing him among the 400 richest people in the United States, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index. He and his wife, Barbara Dalio, have pledged to donate much of their wealth to charity.
“Money is an important consideration in life, but really, if you look at happiness, happiness beyond a certain level has no correlation to wealth,” the 77-year-old said Thursday during a panel discussion at the Milken Institute Asia Summit in Singapore. “The biggest determinant of happiness is a sense of community.”
Dalio added, “There’s a saying: ‘Success is not determined by how smart you are, but by how adaptable you are.'”
Dalio founded Bridgewater in 1975 and built it into one of the world’s largest hedge fund managers, which now oversees about $102 billion for institutional investors.
He is also the author of the #1 New York Times bestseller, Principles, which describes his approach to decision-making and leadership.
“Tough love”
Dalio emphasized at Thursday’s summit that his credo as a leader is to balance meaningful work with meaningful relationships.
“We’re on a mission together, but it’s going to take some tough love,” he said. “You want tough love with your kids. You want tough love with everything because tough makes you stronger.”
He explained that tough love and accountability are necessary for a team to be successful.
This billionaire has similar views on achieving success.
To achieve success, it’s important to identify your goals, plan your path, and pursue those goals with complete faith, he said in a 2024 LinkedIn post.
“Those who are successful and who drive progress have a deep understanding of the causal relationships that govern reality and principles for using them to get what they want,” Dalio wrote at the time.
“I don’t care if you want to be the master of the universe or a couch potato or anything else. I really don’t. Some people want to change the world, and some people simply want to live in harmony with the world and enjoy life. Neither is better than the other. Each of us must decide what we value most and choose the path we take to achieve it.”
