Forex trading is risky, but with great risks come even greater profit opportunities.
You may have read many stories of forex traders who have lost huge amounts of money in the forex market.
However, this doesn’t mean that the market is all losses.
There are forex traders who have attained success in the financial markets and made a name—and tons of money—for themselves by trading forex.
In this article, we’ve listed the world’s most successful forex traders and their stories.
Check out the list below!
The Best Forex Traders in the World
Foreign exchange trading can be highly rewarding if you know what you are doing.
Throughout the forex market’s history, many successful forex traders have made their fortunes through currency trading.
Read on below to learn about the world’s best forex traders who have made their marks in the foreign exchange markets.
George Soros: The Forex Maestro
Nationality: Hungarian-American
Profession: Forex trader, hedge fund manager
Trading Style: Active trader
Notable Achievement: George Soros became known as “the man who broke the Bank of England” when he made USD 1 billion in profits after shorting the British pound in 1992, during the day that became known as “Black Wednesday” in the finance world.
Net Worth: Approximately USD 6.7 billion
George Soros is one of the most successful forex traders in the world.
He is a well-known and respected figure in the financial industry and is considered a legend by many.
On June 16th, 1992, the day that would henceforth be known as Black Wednesday in the financial sector, George Soros executed his most famous trade.
At the time, many investors already saw the GBP as overvalued.
George Soros’ fund management firm, Quantum Fund, took a massive short position against the British pound. Soros believed that the British government would eventually cave and exit the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM).
His bet paid off spectacularly when, on the same day, the British government announced that it was leaving the ERM.
Quantum Fund made an estimated USD one billion in profits that day, and George Soros cemented his position as one of the world’s most successful traders.
Paul Tudor Jones: Mastering the Markets
Nationality: American
Profession: Hedge fund manager
Trading Style: Macro trading
Notable Achievement: Paul Tudor Jones predicted—and profited—the 1987 stock market crash.
Net Worth: USD 8.1 billion
Paul Tudor Jones, founder of the Tudor Investment Corporation, is an American billionaire and hedge fund manager.
He gained great renown in the finance world for his accurate prediction of the 1987 stock market crash, from which he made over a hundred million dollars in profit.
In 2013, Paul Tudor Jones proved that his prediction of the 1987 stock market crash was not merely lucky guesswork. During this year, he took large positions against the Japanese yen.
That year, the yen lost ground against other major currencies, and Jones made a 20% return on his initial investments. Today, he is counted among the world’s richest forex traders.
For Jones, a good forex trader is one with an unending thirst for knowledge and information.
Stanley Druckenmiller: Navigating Success
Nationality: American
Profession: Investor, financier, former hedge fund manager
Trading Style: Macro trading
Notable Achievement: Worked with George Soros and helped Soros’ Quantum Fund during the famous Black Wednesday trade that pushed the British government out of the European Exchange Rate Mechanism.
Net Worth: USD 6.2 billion
Stanley Druckenmiller worked with George Soros for ten years under Quantum Fund. He was one of Soros’ collaborators during the 1992 Black Wednesday market event and considered him his mentor.
Following his departure from Soros’ firm, Druckenmiller founded his own hedge fund, Duquesne Capital. This venture proved to be a success, and Duquesne Capital gave double-digit percentage returns for most of the years under Druckenmiller’s watch.
Upon his retirement, Stanley Druckenmiller’s net worth was worth USD 2 billion and only continued to go up through the years.
Bill Lipschutz: Strategies for Triumph
Nationality: American
Profession: Portfolio manager
Notable Achievement: Bill Lipschutz grew his USD 12,000 inheritance into USD 250,000 and then almost lost it all in a single trade during his college years.
Net Worth: USD 2 billion
Bill Lipschutz started his trading career early in his life. When he was in college, he inherited USD 12,000 worth of stock from his grandmother. He liquidated these and sought a better approach to investing his inheritance.
He began researching and reading about trading in the financial markets while he was at Cornell University. During his free time, Lipschutz was investing his inherited capital.
Bill Lipzchutz was able to grow the amount to an impressive USD 250,000 before making a costly trading mistake that cost him almost the entire amount.
The loss did not dishearten Lipschutz; instead, he took it as a valuable lesson. He was able to build up his account again before his time at Cornell ended.
In 1984, Lipschutz started working for Salomon Brothers, one of the most well-known investment firms in the US during the 1980s. A year later, he was making over USD 300 million annually for the firm.
He left the firm in 1990 and, in 1995, formed Hathersage Capital Management with his former classmates from Cornell University.
Michael Marcus: Paving the Way to Prosperity
Nationality: American
Profession: Commodities trader
Trading Style: Trend following and capital compounding
Notable Achievement: Michael Marcus is well known for turning an initial investment of USD 30,000 into a whopping USD 80 million in a 20-year period.
Net Worth: Reputed to be around USD 1.4 billion at the time of his death.
Before his unfortunate passing, many forex traders regarded Michael Marcus as a legend in the foreign exchange market.
Marcus was renowned for his use of compounding strategies, which he famously used to grow a USD 30,000 initial investment into USD 80 million over 20 years.
Marcus started his career working as an analyst at the Commodities Corporation company (now part of Goldman Sachs). During his time there, he was under the tutelage of one of the world’s best commodities traders, Ed Seykota.
Among Marcus’ well-known trades was his purchase of German marks (DEM) during the Reagan presidency in 1980.
At the time, the DEM was highly undervalued in the currency markets.
However, the German currency experienced significant gains from 1985 to 1987, and Michael Marcus’ investment paid off by the millions.
Just as he was taught by Ed Seykota, Marcus, too, passed on his trading knowledge to other traders. Among Marcus’ prodigies was the American billionaire, philanthropist, and hedge fund manager Bruce Kovner.
Exploring the World’s Best Female Forex Traders
The forex market is not solely dominated by men. Many women around the world have also made their fortunes by trading forex.
In this section, you’ll learn about some of the most successful female forex traders worldwide.
Cathie Wood: Breaking Barriers in Forex
Nationality: American
Profession: Investor, founder, CEO and CIO of Ark Invest, portfolio manager
Notable Achievement: Cathie Woods founded Ark Invest and showed how disruptive innovations can become the most direct path to growth when six Ark ETFs yielded over 100% returns in 2020.
Net Worth: Estimated to be at USD 140 million
Cathie Woods has made a name for herself in the financial markets through her work at Ark Invest, her own investment company.
She is a self-made millionaire whose parents immigrated from Ireland to the US in search of a better life.
Cathie graduated summa cum laude at the University of Southern California (USC), where she earned a bachelor of science degree in finance and economics. She spent her time at USC under the mentorship of famed economist Arthur Laffer, the creator of the Laffer Curve.
In 2014, she co-founded ARK Investment Management, which made significant gains in 2020 and helped Cathie carve her name among the giants of the trading world.
Kathy Lien: Mastering the Markets
Nationality: American
Profession: Managing Director of FX Strategy at BK Asset Management, financial analyst, author
Trading Style: Fundamental analysis with a focus on major economic events and factors
Notable Achievement: Co-founded BKForex, one of the world’s leading forex advisory and trading firms, and authored several books on Forex trading, including “The Little Book of Currency Trading” and “Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market.”
Net Worth: USD 5 million
Kathy Lien began her career in the forex market early in her life.
She graduated from New York University’s Stern School of Business at the age of 18 and immediately started working on Wall Street. During this time, Kathy focused on currencies.
Following her start at Wall Street, Kathy worked for JPMorgan Chase, where she was responsible for making markets on the interbank foreign exchange trading desk.
In 2003, then 21-year-old Kathy joined FXCM. Soon after, she launched DailyFX, now counted among the world’s premier forex research portals, focusing on G20 currencies.
In 2017, she co-founded BKForex Asset together with Boris Schlossberg.
Kathy frequently appears as a resource person for financial news outlets, such as Bloomberg, the Wall Street Journal, and Reuters, who seek her out for her valuable insights and expertise in currency trading.
To date, she has written several books that are considered essential reading materials for all forex traders. These include:
- The Little Book of Currency Trading
- Day Trading and Swing Trading the Currency Market
- Millionaire Traders: How Everyday People Are Beating Wall Street at Its Own Game
- High Probability Trading Setups for the Currency Market
Kathy’s familiarity with various trading strategies and extensive experience in the foreign exchange market helped her climb the ranks of the world’s leading forex traders.
Raghee Horner: Triumphs in Forex
Nationality: American
Profession: Forex analyst, author, Managing Director of Futures Trading,
Trading Style: Multi-asset trading
Notable Achievement: Raghee Horner is known for creating the GRaB and Wave Premium Indicator and other useful indicators.
Net Worth: Over USD 82 million
Raghee Horner is a seasoned trader with almost 35 years of experience in the forex market. A successful trader in her own right, Raghee gained prominence in the forex market for her “any market, any time frame” indicators.
Raghee’s passion for trading compels her to help beginners become successful traders in the forex market.
Her published works are a great resource for investors in the financial markets and are a rich source of helpful trading strategies. Some of Raghee’s books include:
- Forex Trading for Maximum Profit: The Best Kept Secret Off Wall Street
- Thirty Days of Forex Trading: Trades, Tactics, and Techniques
- Forex on Five Hours a Week: How to Make Money Trading on Your Own Time
Raghee is a firm believer in the importance of knowing how to trade different asset classes and looking at the broader market before deciding which asset a trader wants to trade in.
Carol Harmer: A Woman of Substance in Trading
Nationality: British
Profession: Retired, Founder of CharmerTrading (formerly CharmerCharts)
Trading Style: Grounded in technical analysis
Notable Achievement: Carol Harmer is known among financial circles for founding CharmerCharts (now CharmerTrading), an esteemed platform that provides traders with valuable insights into the forex market.
Carol Harmer is a well-respected figure in the forex trading community.
Her dedication to educating traders and helping them along their trading journey has earned her the respect and admiration of many online traders in the world.
Carol founded her company, CharmerTrading, to give forex traders a platform that provides them with valuable and reliable market insights and helps them become more successful.
A successful trader herself, Carol only regrets that not many women are taking up forex trading. She strongly believes women can become equally successful traders as men.
Cynthia Macy: Navigating the Forex Landscape
Nationality: American
Notable Achievement: Cynthia Macy is known for designing the Green Tomatoes for Newbies, a trading system specifically created for new forex traders.
Net Worth: USD
Cynthia Macy started as a stock trader in the late 1990s before learning how to trade forex in 2001.
Since entering the forex industry, Cynthia has created a number of trading systems for different trading platforms.
One of these systems is the Fusion Advanced MT4 Retracement Forex System, built specifically for the MetaTrader 4 (MT4) platform.
Cynthia developed this system using her favorite indicators and based on her knowledge of color-coded MT4 trading systems.
The Green Tomatoes for Newbies is another system she built to help beginners start trading forex.
Best Professional FX Traders: Learn from the Pros
If you want to become a great forex trader, following the examples of the best forex traders in the world is a step towards the right path.
From our list of the top forex traders, you will see that anyone can achieve success in the currency markets.
By emulating the trading strategies of top forex traders, you can increase the chances of getting profitable trades and achieving success in the forex markets.
Understanding Success: Key Forex Trading Skills
The secret to becoming the best forex trader there is can be summarized in two words: risk management.
The best forex traders are risk managers first and currency traders second.
Mastering the Art of Risk Management
The richest traders aren’t always the ones who make the largest profits; they can be the ones who suffer the least losses. After all, your profits are not actually profits until after you’ve closed your positions.
For this reason, learning about proper risk management strategies is an essential skill for traders who want to succeed in the forex markets.
Developing and strictly adhering to a sound trading strategy and knowing when to exit trades is crucial if you want to keep any profits you’ve earned.
Consistency Over High-Risk Trades
One of the most effective trading strategies you can follow is to keep smaller but consistent trades instead of a few large and high-risk ones.
While adopting an aggressive trading style can be tempting due to the promise of bigger returns, it also carries a higher risk level as you take on more exposure to market volatility.
Opting for smaller and more consistent trades can often yield larger profits in the long run.
Conclusion: Becoming a Successful Forex Trader
What do successful forex traders have in common?
They have the self-discipline needed to stick to a well-defined trading strategy and a solid understanding of market dynamics and risk management.
These are essential skills that every trader must have. However, these skills take time to develop and hone.
Through constant practice and application of best practices when trading, you may have the chance to be counted among the best forex traders.
The good news is that you don’t have to take this journey alone. There are many traders worldwide who can help you—and you can help them, too!
Become a CommuniTrade member today and join the world’s first online trading community!
