Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates in 1975 and grew it into a multi-billion dollar investment firm known for algorithmic trading and systematic decision-making. He has become a prominent voice on economics, leadership, and radical transparency in organizations. Dalio is also a dedicated philanthropist focused on education and economic mobility.
52 Books Recommended by Ray Dalio
Ranked by popularity across all reading lists on this site

Sapiens
34 people recommendedRay Dalio mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Also recommended by: Ankur Warikoo, Naval Ravikant, Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Changpeng Zhao, Daniel Ek, James Cameron, Kishore Biyani, Melinda Gates, Reid Hoffman, Richard Branson, Vinod Khosla, Ashton Kutcher, Bill Gurley, Anthony Pompliano, Chris Evans, Demis Hassabis, James Clear, Joe Rogan, Karlie Kloss, Keith Rabois, Lex Fridman, Mark Manson, Patrick Oshaughnessy, Penn Jillette, Peter Attia, Pewdiepie, Ryan Shea, Sam Kass, Sebastian Junger, Simon Mayo, Whitney Cummings, Derek Sivers

Atlas Shrugged
23 people recommendedRegarding economics, if you havenβt read [this author] lately, I suggest that you do.
Also recommended by: Elon Musk, Mark Cuban, Peter Thiel, Steve Jobs, Brian Armstrong, Ev Williams, Travis Kalanick, Amelia Boone, Bob Metcalfe, Austen Allred, Blake Scholl, Patrick Bet David, Fred Wilson, Gabby Reece, Joe De Sena, John Carmack, Paul Krugman, Peter Diamandis, Phil Jackson, Rand Paul, Russell Brunson, Shah Rukh Khan

Thinking, Fast and Slow
20 people recommendedRay Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Also recommended by: Ankur Warikoo, Naval Ravikant, Bill Gates, Ev Williams, Marc Andreessen, Ron Conway, Sam Altman, Ben Greenfield, Bryan Johnson, Derek Sivers, Jason Fried, Jay Shetty, Mark Manson, Michiko Kakutani, Nassim Taleb, Preston Pysh, Sahil Lavingia, Scott Adams, Stewart Brand

The Fountainhead
17 people recommendedRegarding economics, if you havenβt read [this author] lately, I suggest that you do.
Also recommended by: Ankur Warikoo, Mark Cuban, Larry Ellison, Ev Williams, Travis Kalanick, Emma Watson, Fred Wilson, Jesse Williams, Jim Carrey, Kevin Kelly, Noah Kagan, Shah Rukh Khan, Tim Urban, Vince Vaughn, Deep Kalra, Kalyan Krishnamurthy
Takes you into the real world of building and transforming an empire.
Also recommended by: Bill Gates, Eric Schmidt, Howard Schultz, Jamie Dimon, Marc Andreessen, Marc Benioff, Richard Branson, Sheryl Sandberg, Adam Grant, Malcolm Gladwell, Matthew Mcconaughey, Satya Nadella, Walter Isaacson

The Lessons of History
12 people recommendedThis is the Durants. They were maybe the greatest historians of all time.
Also recommended by: Naval Ravikant, Balaji Srinivasan, Eric Jorgenson, Kevin Systrom, Balaji S. Srinivasan, James Clear, Lyn Alden, Mark Manson, Shane Parrish, Tim Ferriss, Derek Sivers

Endurance
12 people recommendedRay Dalio can be seen reading this book on the article's main image.
Also recommended by: Sam Altman, Bryan Johnson, Andrew Klavan, Barry Ritholtz, Dominic Dagostino, Fred Wilson, Jason Fried, Jordan Peterson, Max Levchin, Ryan Holiday, Scott Belsky

Originals
12 people recommendedRay Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Also recommended by: Peter Thiel, Richard Branson, Sheryl Sandberg, Arianna Huffington, Anthony Pompliano, Jodie Cook, Kat Cole, Seth Godin, Tim Urban, Tony Hsieh, Whitney Wolfe Herd

The Power of Habit
10 people recommendedFantastic. I got [this book] and I gave it to everyone in my company.
Also recommended by: Naval Ravikant, Danny Miranda, Patrick Bet David, Kelly Starrett, Max Levchin, Mr Money Mustache, Scott Adams, Tim Ferriss, Derek Sivers

Steve Jobs
9 people recommendedI noticed a number of similarities between [Steve Jobs and I], especially when [the author] quoted Jobsβs own words. [...] but to be clear, I didnβt think that Bridgewater or I held a candle to Apple and Jobs.
Also recommended by: Elon Musk, Gary Vaynerchuk, Bill Gates, Chris Fussell, Ed Zschau, George Raveling, Scott Adams, Scott Belsky

Benjamin Franklin
8 people recommendedI read [this book and "Einstein"] and probed [Walter Isaacson] about them to try to glean what characteristics they had in common.
Also recommended by: Elon Musk, Brandon Stanton, Charlie Munger, Ed Zschau, George Raveling, Scott Belsky, Tim Ferriss

Einstein
8 people recommendedI read [this book and "Benjamin Franklin"] and probed [Walter Isaacson] about them to try to glean what characteristics they had in common.
Also recommended by: Mark Zuckerberg, Bill Gates, Sam Altman, Charlie Munger, Ed Zschau, George Raveling, Scott Belsky

Destined for War
7 people recommendedReminds us that over the last 500 years there have been 16 times in which there has been [...] an empire challenging another. In 12 of those cases there have been wars.
Also recommended by: Elon Musk, Lloyd Blankfein, Anthony Scaramucci, David Sacks, Fareed Zakaria, Walter Isaacson

Titan
7 people recommendedFabolous.
Also recommended by: Charlie Munger, Anthony Pompliano, Austen Allred, David Friedberg, Jason Calacanis, Ryan Holiday

No Rules Rules
6 people recommended[The author], his people, and his culture are all of star quality. I recommend his book.
Also recommended by: Ankur Warikoo, Ben Horowitz, Jim Collins, Satya Nadella, Peyush Bansal
Masterfully distills the essence of [Transcendental Meditation] so that anyone can understand how it worksβand why they should learn it.
Also recommended by: Oprah Winfrey, Arianna Huffington, Ellen Degeneres, Hugh Jackman
I love [this book] because itβs essentially a collection of great principles from people who have accomplished great things.
Also recommended by: Ben Greenfield, Jocko Willink, Jodie Cook, Tony Robbins

Trailblazer
5 people recommendedThe gold standard on how to use business as a platform for change.
Also recommended by: Jamie Dimon, Richard Branson, Jim Cramer, Susan Wojcicki
A little bit dense, but itβs so rich, itβs a good one.
Also recommended by: Darren Aronofsky, Kyle Maynard, Patrick Oshaughnessy
Provides me a valuable and entertaining view of past presidents during analogous difficult times.
Also recommended by: Eric Schmidt, Ashton Kutcher, Dana Perino

Keeping At It
4 people recommended[The author] is an American hero who has seen more and done more to shape the world economy than anyone else over the last 50 years. [This book] is a must read.
Also recommended by: Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, Jason Calacanis
Ray Dalio mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Also recommended by: Mark Cuban, Anthony Pompliano, Raoul Pal
Ray Dalio mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Also recommended by: Vinod Khosla, Esther Dyson
Combining ancient wisdom with the practicalities of today.
Also recommended by: Arianna Huffington, Ali Abdaal
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Also recommended by: Graham Duncan
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Also recommended by: Mark Manson
Another very short book on evolution. It just really puts things in perspective.
Also recommended by: Derek Sivers
The real story of what it takes from a man who could turn dreams into realities.
Also recommended by: Eric Schmidt
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
I recommended [this book to the Dalai Lama] (which I also recommend to you).


Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
Surmises that between one million and two million years ago, [...] the brain evolved in ways supporting cooperation so man could hunt and do other activities.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book on "The Tim Ferriss Show" podcast.
β[One of the books that] showed how the same things happened over and over again throughout history.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
If youβre interested in learning more [about the Dalai Lama's thinking].
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
Ray Dalio mentioned this book in his book, "Principles.
[This book] was given to me because people know that I like that stuff.

