Jim Simons and his hedge fund, Renaissance Technologies, were notoriously private. This book, The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution, shows it.

While reading, I never felt I was getting to the heart of Simons. Even with the mystique, one can only admire their accomplishments.

The book narrates several stories: Simons, Renaissance, and the political involvement certain members took using their spoils.

Inside Renaissance was another figure: Robert Mercer. His name hit headlines via reports tracing money to prominent patrons sponsoring the Trump 2014 - 2016 campaign.

Here's a quote illustrating Mercer's views on government:

"I took this as an indication that one of the most important goals of government-financed research is not so much to get answers as it is to consume the computer budget," Mercer later said.

"After Mitt Romney lost the 2012 presidential election, the Mercers became even more disenchanted... Rebekah [Mercer]... delivered a scathing... critique of the Republican Party... Rebekah said it was time to 'save America from becoming like a socialist Europe.'"

In 2013, pollster Patrick Caddell shared data with Mercer suggesting voter alienation from both parties. Mercer commissioned more polling, concluding a major shift was underway. "My God, this is a whole new world," he told Caddell.

I find this quote particularly poignant considering the state of the world in 2025.

Contrast Mercer's worldview with Simons:

"Jim Simons was torn... Simons had leaned left politically... He sometimes supported Republican candidates, but usually backed Democrats... By the middle of 2016, Simons had emerged as the most important supporter of the Democratic Party's Priorities USA Action super PAC... By the end of that year, Simons would donate more than $27 million to Democratic causes."

Asked why he didn't stop Mercer's political activities, Simons said:

"I think he's a little crazy... But he's extremely bright. I couldn't fire him because of his political beliefs."

The irony of Renaissance and my overall takeaway: Simons and Mercer worked together to create their money printing machine, but the rewards they used were in direct conflict with the life each wished to see.

This was an insightful book, mapping key figures behind the camera who influenced America today.

A small piece of trivia: Jeff Bezos and John Nash make cameos in Simon's life. This book reminds me that we humans are truly and simply random animals.

I finished this blog with another quote by Jim Simons:

"Be guided by beauty... it can be the way a company runs, or the way an experiment comes out, or the way the theorem comes out, but there's a sense of beauty when something is working well, almost an aesthetic to it.“