Editing Nassim Nicholas Taleb (section)

== Career ==
=== Finance ===
Taleb has been a practitioner of [[mathematical finance]]<ref>{{cite news| last=Tett| first=G. |date=27 March 2011 | title=Black swans, but no need to flap ...| work=[[Financial Times]]| page=12| url=https://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/ddd47642-55b7-11e0-a00c-00144feab49a.html |access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref> as a [[hedge fund]] manager,<ref name="fortune2024">{{cite web |last1=Daniel |first1=Will |title=The hedge funder who's made billions providing 'insurance' against market crashes insists he's no permabear: 'Cassandras make terrible investors' |url=https://fortune.com/2024/04/06/mark-spitznagel-hedge-fund-permabear-cassandras-make-terrible-investors/ |website=Fortune |access-date=5 August 2024 |quote=...he’s employed Nassim Taleb, the statistician and academic who popularized the concept of the rare and unexpected event called a “black swan,” as a “distinguished scientific advisor.” |date=6 April 2024}}</ref><ref name="universa2024">{{cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.universa.net/aboutus.html |website=www.universa.net |publisher=Universa Investments L.P. |access-date=5 August 2024 |quote=Spitznagel and Universa’s Distinguished Scientific Advisor, Nassim Nicholas Taleb, together began tail hedging formally for client portfolios over twenty years ago.}}</ref> and a [[derivative (finance)|derivatives]] [[trader (finance)|trader]].<ref name=BakerSaid08/><ref name="business.timesonline.co.uk">{{cite news |last=Appleyard |first=Bryan |author-link=Bryan Appleyard |date=1 June 2008 |title=Nassim Nicholas Taleb the prophet of boom and doom |work=[[The Times]] |location=London |url=http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article4022091.ece |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080906052320/http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/economics/article4022091.ece |url-status=dead |archive-date=6 September 2008 |access-date=19 May 2010}}</ref>  He has held the following positions:<ref name=NassimTaleb37>Nassim Nicholas Taleb's Curriculum Vitae [http://fooledbyrandomness.com/CV.htm "Official Academic Biography"], at ''fooledbyrandomness.com'' accessed 9 May 2015.</ref><ref>{{cite news|title=Taleb Outsells Greenspan as Black Swan Gives Worst Turbulence |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aHfkhe8.C._8|work=[[Bloomberg News]]}}</ref> managing director and proprietary trader at Credit Suisse [[UBS AG|UBS]], currency trader at [[First Boston Corporation|First Boston]], chief currency derivatives trader for [[Banque Indosuez]], managing director and worldwide head of financial [[option (finance)|option]] [[arbitrage]] at [[CIBC Wood Gundy]], derivatives arbitrage trader at [[Bankers Trust]] (now [[Deutsche Bank]]), proprietary trader at [[BNP Paribas]], independent option market maker on the [[Chicago Mercantile Exchange]] and hedge fund manager for [[Empirica Capital]].<ref name="institutional">{{cite magazine |last=Alexander |first=Jan |date=November 2011 |title=Spreading his Wings |url=https://www.institutionalinvestor.com/article/2bszpin5fblf1xw32c1ds/premium/universas-mark-spitznagel-spreads-his-wings |magazine=AR: Absolute Return + Alpha |publisher=Institutional Investor & Hedge Fund Intelligence |pages=24–32}}</ref>

Taleb reportedly became [[financial independence|financially independent]] after the crash of 1987 from his hedged short Eurodollar position while working as a trader for First Boston.<ref name="BakerSaid08" /> Next, Taleb pursued work toward his PhD in Paris, [[Nassim Nicholas Taleb#Education|completing the degree program in 1998]]. He returned to New York City and  [[Mark Spitznagel#Early life and education|founded Empirica Capital in 1999]]. During the market downturn in 2000, at the end of the [[dot com bubble|dot com bubble and burst]], Empirica's Empirica Kurtosis LLC fund was reported to have made a 56.86% return. Taleb's investing strategies continued to be highly successful during the [[NASDAQ|Nasdaq]] dive in 2000.<ref name=BW /> Several consecutive years of low market volatility and less spectacular returns followed, and Empirica closed in 2004.<ref name="institutional" />
In 2007, Taleb joined his former Empirica partner, [[Mark Spitznagel]],<ref name=institutional /> as an adviser to [[Universa Investments]], an asset management company based on the "black swan" idea, owned and managed by Spitznagel in Miami, Florida.<ref name=WallSt /> 

Taleb attributed the [[2008 financial crisis]] to the mismatch between reality and statistical distributions used in finance. Taleb's investing approach produced significant returns once again, with some Universa funds returning 65% to 115% in October 2008.<ref name="WallSt" /><ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=newsarchive&sid=aW2ByfpGZflA |work=[[Bloomberg News]] |title=Taleb Says Business Schools Use 'Bogus' Risk Models (Update1) |date=7 November 2008}}</ref> In a 2007 ''[[Wall Street Journal]]'' article, Taleb claimed he retired from trading and would be a full-time author.<ref name="WSJ_Patterson_2007">{{cite news|last=Patterson |first=Scott |url=https://www.wsj.com/articles/SB118429436433665637 |title=Mr. Volatility and the Swan|publisher=The Wall Street Journal |date=13 July 2007 |access-date=14 October 2009}}</ref> He describes the nature of his involvement as "totally passive" from 2010 on.<ref name=NassimTaleb37 /> The ''Wall Street Journal'' journalist Scott Patterson wrote that "Taleb's involvement with Universa made him fabulously wealthy, the cash from the fund far outdistancing the substantial profits from his bestsellers".<ref>Scott Patterson, ''Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis'', Scribner, 2023, p. 16.</ref>

Taleb considers himself less a businessman than an [[epistemologist]] of [[randomness]], and says that he used trading to attain independence and freedom from authority.<ref name=BW>{{cite news|last=Stone|first=Amy|date=23 October 2005|title=Profiting from the Unexpected |work=[[Bloomberg Business Week]] |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/bw/stories/2005-10-23/profiting-from-the-unexpected | access-date=7 May 2015}} {{cite web |url=http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/busweek.mht |title=Profiting from the Unexpected |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20061021070352/http://www.fooledbyrandomness.com/busweek.mht |archive-date=21 October 2006 |access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref> He advocated for [[black swan theory|tail risk hedging]],<ref>{{cite news|last=Harrington |first=Shannon D. |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/2010-07-20/pimco-sells-black-swan-protection-as-wall-street-profits-from-selling-fear.html |title=Pimco Sells Black Swan Protection as Wall Street Markets Fear |work=[[Bloomberg News|Bloomberg]] |date= 19 July 2010|access-date=1 October 2010}}</ref> which is intended to mitigate investors' exposure to extreme market moves. Tail risk hedging safeguards investors by reaping rewards from rare events, thus Taleb's investment management career has included several jackpots followed by lengthy dry spells.<ref name=BakerSaid08/><ref name="WallSt" />

Taleb attended the [[World Economic Forum]] annual meeting in [[Davos]] in 2009; at that event he had harsh words for bankers, suggesting that bankers' recklessness will not be repeated "if you have punishment".<ref>{{cite news |last=Ignatius |first=David |author-link=David Ignatius |date=1 February 2009 |title=Humbled Economic Masters at Davos |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2009/01/30/AR2009013002726.html |access-date=14 October 2009}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |last=Redburn |first=Tom |date=28 January 2009 |title=A Rallying Cry to Claw Back Bonuses |work=[[DealBook]] |publisher=The New York Times |url=https://dealbook.nytimes.com/2009/01/28/a-rallying-cry-to-claw-back-bonuses/ |access-date=14 October 2009}}</ref>

=== Academia ===
Taleb shifted his career emphasis to mathematical research in 2006. Since 2008, he has taught classes at [[New York University Tandon School of Engineering]], as Distinguished Professor of Risk Engineering.<ref name="nyuedu">{{cite web |title='Hottest thinker in the world' joins faculty {{!}} NYU Tandon School of Engineering |url=https://engineering.nyu.edu/news/2008/09/08/hottest-thinker-world-joins-faculty |website=engineering.nyu.edu |date=8 September 2008 |access-date=5 August 2024 |publisher=[[NYU Tandon School of Engineering]]}}</ref><ref>John F. Kelly, 2008, [http://archive.poly.edu/press/_doc/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb_joins_Polytechnic.pdf Nassim Nicolas Taleb, Author of the National Bestseller, The Black Swan, Joins Polytechnic Institute of NYU] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120329075549/http://archive.poly.edu/press/_doc/Nassim_Nicholas_Taleb_joins_Polytechnic.pdf |date=29 March 2012 }}, at ''[[New York University Polytechnic School of Engineering|NYU-Poly]]'' (press release), 3 October 2008, accessed 7 May 2014.</ref> and was a Distinguished Research Scholar at the [[Said Business School]] BT Center, [[University of Oxford]] from 2009 to 2013.<ref>{{citation |url=http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/ |title=Oxford Said School of Business |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20121021121657/http://www.sbs.ox.ac.uk/centres/bt/directory/Pages/default.aspx |archive-date=21 October 2012 |access-date=28 December 2016 }}</ref> Taleb also held positions at NYU's [[Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences]], the [[University of Massachusetts Amherst]], and the [[London Business School]].

Taleb is Co-Editor in Chief of the academic journal ''Risk and Decision Analysis'' since September 2014,<ref>IOS Press, 2014, [http://www.iospress.nl/ios_news/new-co-editor-in-chief-risk-and-decision-analysis/ News: New Co-Editor-in-Chief Risk and Decision Analysis], at ''IOS Press'' (online), 19 September 2014, accessed 7 May 2014.</ref> jointly teaches regular courses with [[Paul Wilmott]] in London, and occasionally participates in teaching courses toward the [[Professional certification in financial services#Certificate in Quantitative Finance|Certificate in Quantitative Finance]].<ref>"Certificate in Quantitative Finance – Course Guide," at ''Wilmott'', 2008 (online), see {{cite web |url=http://www.wilmott.com/cqf_brochure.pdf |title=Archived copy |access-date=9 May 2015 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20120916182524/http://www.wilmott.com/cqf_brochure.pdf |archive-date=16 September 2012}}, accessed 9 May 2015.</ref> He is also a faculty member of the [[New England Complex Systems Institute]].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://necsi.edu/faculty|title=Faculty|website=New England Complex Systems Institute}}</ref>

=== {{Anchor|Writing career}}Writing career ===
Taleb's first non-technical book, ''[[Fooled by Randomness]]'', about the underestimation of the role of randomness in life, published in 2001, was selected by [[Fortune (magazine)|''Fortune'']] as one of the smartest 75 books known.<ref>{{cite news|last=Useem|first=Jerry|title=The Smartest Books We Know |url=https://money.cnn.com/magazines/fortune/fortune_archive/2005/03/21/8254826/index.htm|access-date=28 August 2013 |newspaper=Fortune|date=21 March 2005}}</ref>

His second non-technical book, ''[[The Black Swan: The Impact of the Highly Improbable|The Black Swan]]'', about unpredictable events, was published in 2007, selling close to three million copies, as of February 2011. It spent 36 weeks on the [[New York Times Bestseller list]],<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_10/b4218047676960.htm |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110226142024/http://www.businessweek.com/magazine/content/11_10/b4218047676960.htm |url-status=dead |archive-date=26 February 2011 |title=Charlie Rose Talks to Nassim Taleb |publisher=[[Business Week]] |date=24 February 2011 |access-date=7 May 2015}}</ref> 17 as hardcover and 19 weeks as paperback, and was translated into 50 languages.<ref name=BakerSaid08/><ref>{{cite web | url=https://www.swisseconomic.ch/en/profile/nassim-nicholas-taleb | title=Nassim Nicholas Taleb Profile |website=www.swisseconomic.ch}}</ref> The book has been credited with predicting the [[2008 financial crisis]].<ref name=BrooksOpEdNYT>{{cite news |author-link=David Brooks (cultural commentator) |first=David |last=Brooks|work=[[The New York Times]]|quote=Not only did Taleb have an explanation for the crisis, but he saw it coming |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/28/opinion/28brooks.html?_r=0|title=The Behavioral Revolution |date=27 October 2008}}</ref>

In a 2008 article in ''[[The Times]]'', journalist [[Bryan Appleyard]] described Taleb as "the hottest thinker in the world".<ref name="business.timesonline.co.uk" /> [[Daniel Kahneman]] proposed the inclusion of Taleb's name among the world's top intellectuals, saying "Taleb has changed the way many people think about uncertainty, particularly in the financial markets. His book, ''The Black Swan'', is an original and audacious analysis of the ways in which humans try to make sense of unexpected events."<ref name="kahneman">{{cite web |last=Kahneman |first=Daniel |author-link=Daniel Kahneman |date=2008 |title=How Could You Not Include ... |url=https://foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4365 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090329025248/http://www.foreignpolicy.com/story/cms.php?story_id=4365 |archive-date=29 March 2009 |access-date=14 October 2009 |work=[[Foreign Policy]]}}</ref>

A book of [[aphorism]]s, ''[[The Bed of Procrustes|The Bed of Procrustes: Philosophical and Practical Aphorisms]]'', was released in December 2010.

''[[Antifragile (book)|Antifragile: Things That Gain from Disorder]]'' was published in November 2012<ref name="TalebAntifragile12" /> and ''[[Skin in the Game (book)|Skin in the Game: Hidden Asymmetries in Daily Life]]'' was published in February 2018.

Taleb's five volume philosophical essay on uncertainty, titled '''''Incerto'''''<!-- bolded per [[WP:MOSBOLD]] as a redirect target -->, includes ''Fooled by Randomness'' (2001), ''The Black Swan'' (2007–2010), ''The Bed of Procrustes'' (2010), ''Antifragile'' (2012), and ''Skin in the Game'' (2018). It was originally published in November 2016 including only the first four books. The fifth book was added in August 2019.

Taleb's non-technical writing style has been described as mixing a narrative, often semi-autobiographical style with short philosophical tales and historical and scientific commentary. The sales of Taleb's first two books garnered an advance of $4 million, for a follow-up book on anti-fragility.<ref name=BakerSaid08/>