Page 60 - Ray Dalio - Principles

was ultimately receptive to the idea, even if she was less
excited about being separated from her son. Matt’s difficult
but life-changing journey profoundly affected his values and

goals. Because he fell in love with China (he says that he
became part Chinese that year) and because he learned the
value of empathy relative to the value of material wealth, he
started a charity called China Care to help Chinese special-
needs orphans when he was just sixteen. He ran it for twelve
years (and, to a much lesser degree, still does), while shifting
his efforts to reconceive what computing can be in the

emerging world, which he is executing through his company
Endless. I in turn learned a lot from Matt, especially about the
joys of philanthropy, and we both learned the deep pleasures
of great personal relationships. Over the years, I (and in turn
Bridgewater) have also built meaningful relationships with
many wonderful people in China, and we have helped its

financial institutions grow from fledgling organizations to
sophisticated giants.

China wasn’t the only country whose people and
governments Bridgewater would become involved with.
Through their representatives, Singapore’s, Abu Dhabi’s, and
Australia’s government investment funds, and Russian and
European policymakers, came knocking on our door. The

experiences I have had, the perspectives I gained, and the help
I was able to provide all added up to a package of rewards as
large as any of the others that I got out of my career.

My contact with Singapore’s people and institutions also
thrilled me. There was and still is no leader I admire more than
Lee Kuan Yew, who transformed Singapore from a mosquito-

infested backwater to a model economy. That says a lot, as I
have gotten to know and admire several world leaders. One of
my most thrilling moments was a dinner I had with him at my
house in New York, shortly before his death in 2015. Lee
requested the dinner to discuss the state of the world economy.
I invited former Fed chairman Paul Volcker (another hero of
mine), former Treasury secretary Bob Rubin (whose breadth
of experiences gave great perspective), and Charlie Rose (one

of the most curious and insightful people I know). Besides
answering his questions, we probed Lee on world affairs and