Award-winning mathematician Jim Simons, best known as a co-founder of the Simons Foundation, passed away this week at the age of 86.
Jim was not only successful with the Simons Foundation but also an award-winning mathematician, a legendary quantitative investor, and a generous philanthropist.
Jim, along with his wife Marilyn Simons, donated billions of dollars to various philanthropic causes. However, he maintained a particular interest in supporting research and education in math and science.
Throughout its thirty-year history, the Simons Foundation’s work has led to breakthroughs in our understanding of autism, the origins of the universe, cellular biology, and computational science.
Jim was active in the work of the Simons Foundation until the end of his life, and his curiosity and lifelong passion for math and basic science were an inspiration to those around him. He was determined to make a meaningful difference in the level of support that mathematics and basic sciences received in the United States, notably by sponsoring projects that were important but unlikely to find funding elsewhere.
Simons FOundation
In 1978, Jim formed what would eventually become Renaissance Technologies, a hedge fund that pioneered quantitative trading and eventually became one of the most profitable investment firms in history.
When asked about his success, which spanned across many fields, Jim frequently stated that he went through three phases in his professional life: investing, philanthropy, and mathematics.
Jim Simons is survived by his wife, three children, five grandchildren, a great-grandchild, and countless colleagues, friends and family who fondly recall his genuine curiosity and quick wit.
Simons Foundation
Simons Foundation President David Spergel released a statement following Simon’s passing.
“Jim was an exceptional leader who did transformative work in mathematics and developed a world-leading investment company,”
“Together with Marilyn Simons, the current Simons Foundation board chair, Jim created an organization that has already had enormous impact in mathematics, basic science and our understanding of autism. The Simons Foundation, an in-perpetuity foundation, will carry their vision for philanthropy into the future.”
Simons Foundation
