What you can learn from the best Forex traders

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Also known as Forex, the foreign exchange market is the largest financial market in the world. It surpasses the US stocks and bonds market in liquidity, value and trading volume. The highly decentralized foreign exchange market involves an extensive network of forex traders, banks, hedge funds, and institutional investors, taking advantage of the market’s liquidity for profit.

Forex traders involve in price speculation by pairing and exchanging two currencies for profit. For example, a trader can pair the US dollars with the Chinese Yuan for profit as follows:

Assuming that he exchanges his $1 for ¥ 6.75 and in the next thirty minutes, $1 exchanges for ¥ 7. The trader will make a profit of ¥ 0.25 due to the price increase occasioned by the market’s volatility.

However, things can turn the other way leading to a price decrease and a resultant loss. The true mark of an excellent forex trader is the ability to use complex analytical tools for top-notch price speculation and analysis. The best forex traders in the world can predict currency price swings to buy low and sell high for profit.

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What Can You Learn From the Top Forex Traders?

This piece seeks to introduce you to some of the best Forex traders with time-proven, out-of-the-box trading approaches and strategies. It also aims to introduce you to the best female traders who have made their marks in the industry. As an aside, you shall also learn beginner tips for becoming a successful Forex trader.

Top 5 Best Forex Traders who made money on the crisis

While the Foreign exchange market has proved resilient in the face of economic uncertainties occasioned by financial crises, few traders have learnt to weather these storms. Here are the top 5 traders who have weathered the storms of economic uncertainties to profit:

George Soros

From surviving Nazi occupation to earning a doctorate from the London School of Economics and betting against the pound during a financial crisis, welcome to the extraordinary career of George Soros.

George is regarded as one of the world's most successful forex traders and Hedge fund managers. He made $1 billion speculating against the British pound in the heat of a financial crisis.

George Soros and the Bank of England

The background leading to the financial crisis or the Black Wednesday of 1992 was the European Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) setup. ERM's mandate was to stabilize Europe's monetary policies and exchange rates as a precursor to a common EU currency.

Hesitatingly, Britain joined the fray due to rising inflation and a receding economy in recession. It pegged the British pound against the Deutschmark for stabilization as demands dropped.

Contrary to everyone’s speculation, George Soros started amassing the British pound, mainly through borrowing to be sold “cheaply” in the open market. The aim was to bring the price down as the Bank of England defended the pound against Soros’ orchestrated price decrease, albeit late.

By the time the British government could smell the coffee, George had flooded the forex market with 10 billion pounds, while the British government could only buy 1 billion pounds in defense of the currency.

Expectedly, other hedge fund managers and investors took the cue from George. They also flooded the market with “cheap” pounds to drag the price further down. By the last quarter of 1992, George had made a $1 billion fortune speculating against the pound while the Bank of England lost $3.3 billion unsuccessfully defending the pound.

George Soros and the Bank of Thailand

To cement his place in history as the best forex trader of the 20th century, Soros would replay the Bank of England’s script during Asia’s financial crisis of 1997. Before the 1997 Asian financial crisis, the Thai government had pegged the Thailand baht against the dollar.

The baht dollar peg was removed as the dollar got stronger in the mid-90s. An overly strong dollar means Thailand's dollar debt obligations would be difficult to meet, resulting in deteriorating capital and trade accounts. The baht dollar peg removal also led to a sharp decline in the value of the baht.

Expectedly, the Thailand government and speculators swarm the foreign exchange market. The Thai government sought to defend the baht by tightening fiscal and monetary policies. At the same time, speculators, including George, speculated and bet against the baht by selling the baht short.

By the end of Asia's financial crisis of 1997, the baht had fallen to its lowest point in defiance of the Bank of Thailand's fiscal policies aimed at defending the currency while George and other speculators won.

While the Thai government accused Soros and other speculators as the cause of the baht's free fall, George, through his company, Quantum fund, maintained that their speculation was based on the analysis of Thailand's fiscal and monetary policies before the baht dollar unpeg.

Paul Tudor Jones II

Managing $13 billion worth of assets through his Tudor Investment Corporation, Paul Tudor Jones II is one of the top traders in the forex space. He rose to prominence by predicting and capitalizing on the 1987 black Monday financial crisis. As predicted, the 1987 financial crisis was caused by a five-year bull market run in need of corrections, novel computerized trading, and several other factors.

Based on his predictions, Paul exited the market the Friday before the black Monday crash. Buying the dip from losers immediately after black Monday returned a profit of $100 million, thus cementing Paul’s place as one of the top traders in Forex.

John Polson

American investor and forex trader John Polson is one of Wall Street's most successful hedge fund managers. The highlight of his career is the outright prediction and strategic betting against the 2008 mortgage crisis.

John’s prediction was informed by outrageous mortgage underwriting standards, which allowed people with low or zero credit ratings to acquire a mortgage. This led to a bubble and an eventual burst. While this may appear as a no-brainer prediction, mortgage prices didn’t reflect the outrageous underwriting, making it difficult for most market analysts to predict.

Armed with his prediction, John made a killing by investing in special insurance contracts, also known as credit default swaps. By the end of the mortgage crisis, he had made billions in profit in what is regarded as "the greatest trade ever".

James Steven Chanos

James is an avid art collector, lecturer, and investment manager. He is the founder of the world’s largest short-selling asset management and investment firm, Kynikos Associates. He is so good at what he does that every objective search for the best trader forex and short selling must feature him.

James rose to prominence on Wall Street with his prediction of the infamous Enron energy disaster. His prediction was hinged on a Wall Street publication celebrating the SEC's authorization of the Mark to Model and Mark to Mark accounting model to be used as an accounting model by Enron. This accounting model allows Enron to paint an illusion of finesse as predicted future earnings can be added to their accounts.

Furthermore, this accounting model shielded investors and shareholders from Enron's actual earnings in profit and loss and, ultimately, the company's health. Armed with his prediction, James short sold his Enron stocks just before the infamous Enron crash. His company, Kynikos Associates, made a fortune of $500 million short selling its Enron stock holdings before the company’s bloody collapse.

Louis Moore Bacon

Founder and Chief Executive of Moore Capital Management LP, Louis Moore Bacon, is notorious for stacking up dollars in the face of geopolitical conflicts. For instance, his bet of Saddam Hussein invading Kuwait and leading to the Gulf war generated about 86% in return as American stocks plummeted.

While Bacon is notorious for predicting geopolitical conflicts to make money, he is also an excellent macro trader with expertise in the foreign exchange market, European bonds and allied securities.

The 5 Best and Most Famous Traders of all Time

While George Soros and Warren Buffett have made indelible marks as the world’s most famous traders, investors and hedge fund managers, there are other relatively unknown dark horses to espouse. They include Larry Williams, Edward Seykota, Victor Niederhoffer, and Carl Celian Icahn.

Follow us as we unravel the secret to their successes and interesting life facts.

Larry Williams

Larry Williams is an avid trader, author and serial investor with forty years of experience in the financial industry. In 1987, Larry won the World Cup Championship of Futures Trading by making a whopping 11,300% returns on $10,000 within twelve months. Other feats include the creation of multiple outstanding market indicators, including COT indices, Williams%R, and Ultimate Oscillator, which has enjoyed global acclaim and reception.

As an author, Larry has published several outstanding books on trading, including “How I Made One Million Dollars Last Year Trading Commodities”, “Secrets of the COT Report”, and “Trade Stocks and Commodities, with the insiders.

Williams is the proud father of award-winning actress, and television personality, Michelle Williams.

The secret of success

Quite surprisingly, Larry’s secret to success is in the public domain. He has noted using time-proven trading indicators and systems as his secrets to success.

Edward Seykota

Edward achieved the impossible by inventing the world’s first electronic trading systems. An alumnus of Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), where he obtained a degree in Electrical Engineering and Management, Edward is a famed commodities trader and technical analyst.

Interestingly, Edward began trading at 5, when he traded his golden medallion for five magnifying lenses. He is the author of the trading tribe, where he offered insight into the psychology of trading and tips for separating emotions from logic while trading. His second book, Govopoloy in the 39th day, explores the tightening of the government's grip on the economy and the resultant increase in regulation and consolidation of political and corporate power.

The secret of success

Edward’s trading secret includes the following:

Loss reduction to the barest minimum.

Identify prospective wins and losses before.

Keep bets low and understand market signals.

Know when to exit the market.

Victor Niederhoffer

Professional squash player, Hedge fund manager, statistician and author is the best forex trader in the world. Maybe, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but Victor's unflinching profit maximization masterstroke culminating in a 60% gain in a 1994 trade solidifies his reputation as the master of quantitative trading technique. Like any other forex trader, Victor has recorded some losses in his trading glossary.

The secret of success

Victor’s secret to success is “to master the rules for disaster, and then concentrate on avoiding them”. With George Soros expressing confidence in his trading skills, Victor's secret to success is worth trying.

Carl Celian Icahn

From the rat-infested alleys of Queens, New York, to a career in the military, an unsuccessful Ivy League sojourn to ranking as one of America's richest, Carl is the poster child of financial brilliance. As an avid investor, he founded the eponymous Icahn enterprise to invest in companies benefiting from corporate policies-induced changes.

Secret of success

The ability to unlock companies' hidden values and a heightened sense of humor remain Carl's secret keys to success. He also seems predisposed to experimenting with ideas and theories.

Top 7 Successful Forex Traders You Should Know

Top 5 Best Female Traders in the World

Forex trading is a gender-neutral enterprise. Like their male counterparts, female traders equipped with the necessary skill sets can climb to the pinnacle of this racket. Here are the top 5 female traders in the world.

Linda Bradford Raschke

With experience spanning four decades in futures and commodity trading, Linda Bradford is a world-renowned forex trader. Numerous writers recognized her as one of the finest forex traders, including Jack Schwager and Sue Herera.

As a registered Commodity Trading Advisor, Linda is the founder of LBR Asset Management, using her wealth of trading experience as a hedge fund manager. She co-authored Street Smarts—High Probability Short Term Trading Strategies, which is one of the bestselling books on trading with Laurence A. Connors.

Secret of success

Linda's secret to success is promptly identifying and rectifying trading mistakes. She also recognizes market-specific strategies as crucial to her trading success.

Cynthia Kase

Interestingly, Cynthia did not set out to become a forex trader. She only became one when she had to undergo compulsory forex training at her company's trading department.

Since undergoing the training, she has distinguished herself as one of the best forex traders in the world. She is credited with developing technical indicators, including PeakOscillator, for pitch-perfect market analysis. She currently consults for several corporate and individual clients across the globe.

Secret of success

Cynthia’s secret to success is filtering technical advice to separate the wheat from the chaff. She has also noted her ability to stand out of the crowd and forge a new path as a secret to success.

Clara Hedwig Frances Furse

While googling the “Best trader forex” may not feature Canadian Clara Hedwig Frances, she’s undoubtedly one of her generation's best forex traders and hedge fund managers. She is the first female Chief Executive Officer of the London Stock Exchange, a position she occupied between 2001 and 2009.

Having been recognized by Time magazine amongst the top 100 influential people worldwide, Clara's influence exceeds the corporate world. In 2008, she was appointed the Dame Commander of the Order of the British Empire.

Secret of success

Discipline is Clara's secret to success. She has alluded to her strict upbringing as contributing to her success.

Cathie Wood Net Worth and Trading Strategy Secrets

Muriel Siebert (Late)

Muriel is the first seat-owning woman on the New York Stock Exchange. Her expertise includes the trade of financial analysis through her company, Muriel Siebert & Co., Inc., which she founded in 1967. The American Academy of Achievement awarded her the Golden Plate award in 1969.

Secret of success

Muriel's secret to traversing the corporate world was incredible work ethic and sheer determination. She was also renowned as a goal-getter who effortlessly pursued her dreams and ambitions.

Raghee Horner

Raghee Horner’s career as a futures forex trader began in High school when she made a bet with her mom. This sparked a fascination with making money by reading charts which eventually influenced Raghee’s career as a forex trader. She is passionate about teaching emerging traders proven position-maximizing strategies and tips for profitable trading.

Raghee’s chart analysis has been featured on several trading platforms and blogs, including FXstreet.com and stockcharts.com.

Secret of success

Raghee’s secret to success is ditching low-probability trades for high-probability ones. She prefers frying the bigger fish to wasting time on fingerlings.

What can I learn from professional Forex traders?

Here are the key lessons to learn from professional traders:

  • Learn the ropes of forex trading from trusted sources.

  • Be disciplined to follow through.

  • Master the psychology of trading.

  • Understand signals before using them.

  • Deploy time-tested strategies for success.

  • Find a mentor.

  • Be patient and trust the journey.

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FAQ

Who is the Best Forex Trader?

The best forex traders in the world include Carl Icahn, George Soros, James Steven Chanos, and Paul Tudor Jones.

Who is the richest Forex Trader in the world?

With a net worth of $18.5 billion, Carl Icahn is the richest forex trader in the world.

Are there successful Forex traders?

There are several successful forex traders in the world.

Can I become a millionaire trading forex?

While fraught with risks, forex trading is one of the surest paths to becoming a millionaire.

Team that worked on the article

Glory Faleke
Contributor

Glory is a professional writer for the Traders Union website with over 5 years of experience in creating content in the areas of NFT, Crypto, Metaverse, Blockchain, or Web3 in general. Over the last couple of years, Glory has also traded on different cryptocurrency and NFT platforms including Binance, Coinbase, Opensea, and others. “I understand a lot about this space, being familiar with CEX, DeFi, and DEX, as well as operating across the Ethereum, Binance, and Polygon networks. Also, I know the intricacies and subtleties of NFTs and crypto, thus I am able to bring to table the best content and help connect with the audience better.”

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Dr. BJ Johnson
Dr. BJ Johnson
Developmental English Editor

Dr. BJ Johnson is a PhD in English Language and an editor with over 15 years of experience. He earned his degree in English Language in the U.S and the UK. In 2020, Dr. Johnson joined the Traders Union team. Since then, he has created over 100 exclusive articles and edited over 300 articles of other authors.

The topics he covers include trading signals, cryptocurrencies, Forex brokers, stock brokers, expert advisors, binary options. He has also worked on the ratings of brokers and many other materials.

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Mirjan Hipolito is a journalist and news editor at Traders Union. She is an expert crypto writer with five years of experience in the financial markets. Her specialties are daily market news, price predictions, and Initial Coin Offerings (ICO). Mirjan is a cryptocurrency and stock trader. This deep understanding of the finance sector allows her to create informative and engaging content that helps readers easily navigate the complexities of the crypto world.