Let's not leave out the possibility that he was gaming the system and stuck his own fingers into the furnace a bit too far. Once burned, twice Niederhoffer...Quote from Rearden Metal:
I doubt he'd even <i>try</i> to rationalize that. My guess is that he does it for the thrill/excitement/adrenalin rush.
He may indeed be a great guy but for his arrogance and megalomania. As for his returning investors, well, that must be a groupie thing, since he was gaming the system at their expense. Perhaps it's also an S&M thing. Just how discerning could these people be, to pay Niederhoffer to essentially go to a casino roulette table with their money and put it all on red? There's intelligent trading and then there's flat out gambling in the wild hope of creating dynastic wealth tomorrow.
