Stanley Druckenmiller

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Stanley Druckenmiller (born 1953 in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania) is the President, CEO and Chairman of Duquesne Capital, which he founded in 1981. The fund is reported to have more than $10 billion in assets. [1] He managed money for George Soros from 1988 to 2000 as the lead portfolio manager for Quantum Fund. With an estimated current net worth of around $3.5 billion, he is ranked by Forbes as the 91st-richest person in America. He is reported to have made $260 million in 2008.

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[edit] Professional & personal life

Druckenmiller began his financial career in 1977 as a management trainee at Pittsburgh National Bank after dropping out of a Ph.D. program at the University of Michigan. He became head of the bank's equity research group after one year. In 1981 he founded his own firm Duquesne Capital Management.

In 1985, he became a consultant to Dreyfus, splitting his time between Pittsburgh and New York, where he lived two days each week. He moved to Pittsburgh full time in 1986 when he was named head of the Dreyfus Fund. As part of his agreement with Dreyfus, he also maintained management of Duquesne. In 1988, he was hired by George Soros to replace Victor Niederhoffer at Quantum Fund. He and Soros famously "broke the Bank of England" when they shorted British pound sterling in 1992, reputedly making more than $1 billion in profits. He left Soros in 2000 after taking large losses in technology stocks. [2] Since then he has concentrated full time on Duquesne Capital, which has had a very successful track record. He is profiled in the book The New Market Wizards by Jack D. Schwager.

Druckenmiller is also chairman of the board of Harlem Children's Zone, a multi-faceted, community-based project[3]. Harlem Children's Zone was founded by Druckenmiller's college friend and fellow Bowdoin College alumnus Geoffrey Canada. Druckenmiller and his wife Fiona Biggs, niece of well-known investor Barton Biggs, are also principal sponsors of the New York City CAKE walk. Druckenmiller has three daughters.

[edit] Pittsburgh Steelers

In July 2008, Druckenmiller emerged as a potential investor in the Pittsburgh Steelers franchise of the National Football League. The five sons of Steelers founder Art Rooney Sr. are working to restructure ownership of the team and Druckenmiller was contacted by a member or representative of the Rooney family about buying the shares of several of the Rooney brothers. On September 18, Druckenmiller withdrew his bid to purchase the team.[1]

NFL owners unanimously approved the restructuring of ownership on December 17, 2008, with Dan & Art II getting the mandated 30% stake. Meanwhile, brothers Timothy and Patrick (the ones who own race tracks with slot machines, which violate NFL ownership rules) selling their shares outright, while Art Jr., John, and the McGinley family selling some shares but retaining smaller ownership roles, with the brothers reducing their shares from 16% to 6% and the McGinley family reducing their shares from 20% to 10%. Also coming on as partners are Pilot Corporation & Pilot Travel Centers president Jim Haslam III (son of founder Jim Haslam Jr. and brother of Knoxville, Tennessee mayor Bill Haslam), Legendary Pictures president & CEO Thomas Tull, and the Paul family of Pittsburgh & Los Angeles (who are primarily involved with Pittsburgh-based Ampco Pittsburgh Corporation and serve on numerous boards, including UPMC and Pitt), each getting a 16% stake in the team.[2] Dan Rooney mentioned he has no ill will towards Druckenmiller, mentioning he's a great Steelers fan and wishes he remains one.

[edit] School

Druckenmiller is a graduate of Collegiate School in Richmond, Virginia. He holds BAs in English and economics from Bowdoin College and graduated in 1975. He dropped out of a three-year Ph.D. program in economics at the University of Michigan in the middle of the second semester to accept a position as a stock analyst for Pittsburgh National Bank.

The Stanley F. Druckenmiller Hall, built in 1997 at Bowdoin College, is named after Druckenmiller and was dedicated to Bowdoin by Druckenmiller himself.

[edit] References

  1. ^ Dulac, Gerry (2008-09-18). "Druckenmiller withdraws name from Steelers sale". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/08262/913323-66.stm?cmpid=sports.xml. Retrieved 2008-09-19. 
  2. ^ ESPN - NFL approves Rooney's ownership plan

[edit] External links

[edit] Further reading

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