Cover Ray Dalio (Photo: Sean Lee-Davies)
Ray Dalio (Photo: Sean Lee-Davies)
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The founder of the world’s largest hedge fund, Ray Dalio has a surprising answer when asked about the source of his success—and it has nothing to do with spreadsheets
When Ray Dalio speaks, financial markets listen. The founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, is not someone you’d expect to credit his greatest edge to sitting still. And yet, aboard the OceanXplorer, the research vessel of his and his son Mark’s non-profit initiative OceanX, that is precisely what he says.
“Whatever success I had is more because of meditation than anything else,” Ray says, with the calm certainty of someone who has long since stopped needing to prove the point. “It gives you a power.”
The practice Ray advocates is Transcendental Meditation, where he shuts his eyes and silently repeats a short mantra for 20 minutes, twice a day. He has practised it since 1969, years before Bridgewater existed.
Read more: Inside OceanX: Ray and Mark Dalio’s mission to explore the seas no one has mapped
Above Ray is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, and co-founder of OceanX, a non-profit initiative he started with his son Mark in 2016 to bring ocean research to the world through storytelling (Photo: Sean Lee-Davies for Tatler Asia)
Ray is the founder of Bridgewater Associates, one of the world’s largest hedge funds, and co-founder of OceanX, a non-profit initiative he started with his son Mark in 2016 to bring ocean research to the world through storytelling (Photo: Sean Lee-Davies for Tatler Asia)
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But for Ray, its value runs far deeper than stress relief or productivity.
“You transcend into your subconscious mind,” he explains, “and then almost above yourself so you see the world from a higher level. You see yourself down in that world.”
What that produces, he says, is a state of equanimity—the ability to meet whatever comes at you with composure rather than reactivity. “Stress is a killer. Meditation almost completely eliminates it.”
In a world where geopolitical uncertainty, information overload and relentless performance pressure define the lives of most people, billionaire or not, finding inner stability and maintaining it is critical.
Read more: Peptides are the new language of longevity, but what do they actually do?
Seeking stillness beneath the surface
Ray’s daily practice of meditation has also rubbed off on his son, Mark, who says it helps him keep a clear mind and feel centred, especially underwater. “The breathing techniques in scuba diving, slowing yourself down so you don’t use up all your oxygen—that in itself trains you to slow down and soak everything in,” Mark says.
Together, father and son point toward the same quietly radical idea: that peak performance is not achieved by doing more, but by cultivating the mental clarity to act with greater precision when it matters.
Above Ray and Mark Dalio (Photo: Sean Lee-Davies for Tatler Asia)
Ray and Mark Dalio (Photo: Sean Lee-Davies for Tatler Asia)
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The lesson worth taking
Whether you’re a billionaire investor, a deep-sea explorer or an office worker, the broader principle that both Ray and Mark are pointing towards is relevant in equal measure: the quality of your outer life is largely shaped by that of your inner one.
In an era that rewards visible effort and pushes for even greater productivity, the willingness to sit quietly may be the most underrated skill. “I would just urge anyone to learn how to meditate,” Ray says, leaning forward.
From the man who built one of the world’s largest hedge funds, that is an instruction worth taking seriously.
Read our full cover interview with Ray and Mark Dalio for Tatler’s April 2026 issue
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Credits
Producer: Chong Seow Wei
Co-Editor: Dana Koh
Creative Direction: Sean Lee-Davies and Zoe Yau
Photography: Sean Lee-Davies
Styling: Adriel Chiun
Photography Assistant: Isaac Ho Ren Jie, Alfred Phang and Christiana Philips
Grooming: Aung Keng and Wee Ming
Chong Seow Wei is a regional senior editor covering business, innovation, impact and people. Based in Singapore, she oversees content for Gen.T, Tatler’s platform for promising entrepreneurs and new-generation leaders, and its Power & Purpose vertical.
