H enry Laufer is an American billionaire who made his fortune as a key executive at one of the world's most successful and secretive quantitative hedge funds, Renaissance Technologies. A brilliant mathematician with a PhD, he was a university professor before being recruited by the legendary code-breaker and mathematician, James Simons, to join his fledgling hedge fund in the early 1990s.

Laufer served for many years as the chief scientist and vice president of research at Renaissance. He was a central figure in developing the complex mathematical models and algorithms that have powered the firm's flagship Medallion Fund, which has produced the best and most consistent returns in the history of modern finance. He retired from his executive role at the firm but remains on its board. He and his wife are major philanthropists, particularly in the fields of mathematics and scientific research.