26. RAY DALIO

$18.7  SELF-MADE SCORE: *

BILLION SOURCE: HEDGE FUNDS AGE: 70 RESIDENCE: GREENWICH, CT PHILANTHROPY SCORE: Several times this year, the founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world’s biggest hedge fund firm, with $160 billion under management, called out wealth inequality as a national issue and voiced concerns about the limits of capitalism. In April he and his wife pledged to contribute $100 million to Connecticut’s lowest performing schools; the state will match the funds. Dalio’s first job was working as a golf caddie at age 11. He launched Bridgewater in 1975 from his New York City apartment.