I used to work in the investment biz. This guy's sucess is roughly equivalent to not only making the NBA, but also winning league MVP. Actually it's more like being Michael Jordan. I know it looks appealing and it's easy to be seduced by insane $$$, but most hedge funds underperform (these people aren't getting big payouts) or fail (these people may actually lose a lot of money). There's quite a bit of risk here and one of the hardest parts is building your hedge fund assets. This usually done by having a stellar track record to market to your rich family, friends or business associates. And even then the career of a hedge fund manager is short. This guy could easily lose a billion dollars next year if he's making big bets.
To go back to your original post though, I agree with you. If you only cared about making ridiculous sums of money then you probably have picked the wrong profession. But it's not too late. Lots of MDs join health care hedge funds. If you seek one out, you could probably get hired.
On the other hand, as a physician you should make more than 99% of everyone else in the world and still be saving lives. That's pretty cool. And at the end of your life, I think you'll look back and see that you've had way more of a meaningful career regardless of how much money you have. Compared to hedge fund managers who make 99.999999999999% more than everyone else but only save people's assets.
But that's why I left. I made the right decision for me, but everyone has different goals.
...this is james simons, a berkeley math phd (go bears). his renaissance tech medallion fund is the best performing hedge fund ever, returning like 35% since 1989 or something. as for them moving markets, on some days rentec represents 10% of the volume on the nazz....
