D avid E. Shaw is a highly reclusive American billionaire who is a pioneer in the field of quantitative investing. He is the founder of D. E. Shaw & Co., one of the most successful and influential hedge funds in the world. With a PhD in computer science from Stanford, Shaw left his role as a university professor to apply his computational skills to the financial markets. He founded his firm in 1988 with a focus on using sophisticated mathematical models and high-speed computer networks to identify market inefficiencies.

D. E. Shaw & Co. became a trailblazer in high-frequency and algorithmic trading, earning a reputation for its secretive, academic culture and its consistent high returns. The firm is also famous for being the place where Jeff Bezos worked before leaving to found Amazon.com. In the early 2000s, Shaw stepped back from the day-to-day management of his hedge fund to return to his primary passion: scientific research. He now leads D. E. Shaw Research, a private research lab that uses custom-built supercomputers to conduct research in computational biochemistry.