---
title: 'Richard Dennis: The Crazy Story of a Trader'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=Dyylh_Diaks'
video_id: 'Dyylh_Diaks'
date: 2026-07-31
duration_sec: 111
---

# Richard Dennis: The Crazy Story of a Trader

> Source: [Richard Dennis: The Crazy Story of a Trader](https://youtube.com/watch?v=Dyylh_Diaks)

## Summary

This video recounts the legendary story of Richard Dennis, a trader who turned $400 into $200 million in 18 years and then proved that trading success can be taught through a famous experiment. Dennis recruited and trained 13 people, known as the 'Turtles,' who achieved extraordinary returns through strict adherence to a rules-based strategy, demonstrating that discipline matters more than intuition.

### Key Points

- **Richard Dennis's Background** [00:02] — Started with $400 and grew his fortune to $200 million in 18 years, becoming a trading legend.
- **The Bet** [00:17] — Friend Bill Eghardt claimed trading was a talent and Dennis was just lucky, prompting Dennis to prove trading could be taught.
- **The Recruitment Ad** [00:32] — Dennis advertised in the Wall Street Journal and the New York Times, offering to move to Chicago, a small salary, and a share of profits. Each ad drew about 1,000 responses.
- **The Turtles Selected** [00:46] — About 80 people were interviewed and 13 were chosen. They were called 'Turtles' and received two weeks of intensive training.
- **Real Money Results** [01:01] — After trading began, press reported $1 million per person; participants later recalled audit bills around $500,000 and $2 million.
- **Mechanical Trading** [01:15] — The traders used a purely mechanical, indicator-based trading strategy.
- **The Results** [01:29] — According to the Wall Street Journal, Dennis's students returned about 80% annually with compound interest over 4.2 years.
- **The Core Lesson** [01:43] — Traders who blindly followed the rules won; the market pays for discipline, not intuition. Act according to strategy to get results.

## Transcript

in fact, a legend.  A guy who started out with about $400 in his youth grew to a fortune of $200 million in 18 years.  One day, Dennis had an argument with his friend Bill Eghardt.  A friend claimed that being a trader was a
talent and that Dennis was just lucky.  If this dispute had been in the Caucasus, it would have ended in a stabbing.  But this is America, and the argument ended differently.  Denis went and organized a casting for traders.  He placed an ad in the Wall Street Journal and the New
York Times and offered a move to Chicago, a small salary, and a percentage of the profits.   And , of course, training.  In general, we will give you a real account for trading and also train you.  Each ad received a response from around 1,000 people.
About 80 people came to the interview, and 13 lucky ones were chosen.  Then they were called turtles.  Just like the farm in Singapore where they raise turtles for animal feed, back then in the US they simply knew nothing about hamsters.  Nowadays they would probably be
called hamsters.  They only had 2 weeks, but 2 weeks of super-class preparation.  Then the real money started coming in.   The press then reported the figure of $1 million per person.  And according to the recollections of one of the participants,
after the audit they were given bills for approximately $500,000 and $2 million .  Traders back then traded purely mechanically using a trading strategy based on indicators.  According to the Wall Street Journal,
Dennis's students returned approximately 80% annually with compound interest over 4.2 years.  This is, of course, in foreign currency.   At the same time, some people were eliminated in the process.  Those who blindly followed the rules won.  It turns out that the market pays
not for intuition, but for discipline.  If you expect results, you need to act according to strategy.  This is what Dennis's experiment teaches.