Greenwich is a small city in Connecticut. Less than 13,300 people consider Greenwich home. Yet, it is regarded as one of the most affluent cities in Connecticut. The median household income is $115,855, and the median home value exceeds $1.22 million.
The richest person in Greenwich is Stephen Mandel. His net worth exceeds $3.6 billion, making him the third richest in Connecticut and the richest in Greenwich.
Who is Stephen Mandel Jr.?
Stephen Mandel Jr. is an American hedge fund manager, investor, and founder of Lone Pine Capital. Lone Pine Capital is an investment company that invests in equities and equity-related securities based in Greenwich, Connecticut. He was born in Darien, Connecticut. He earned his Bachelor of Arts in government at Dartmouth College in 1978 and his M.B.A. at Harvard Business School in 1982.
His grandfather attended Dartmouth College in 1926.
The family connection to Dartmouth College goes back to 1920 when his grandfather attended the College, then his dad, followed by many family members. His association with Dartmouth College continues today. He served on the Board of Trustees from 2007 to 2015 and today is considered Trustees Emeriti.
After college, he worked at Goldman Sachs for six years before joining Tiger Management, where he learned from Julian Robertson, who mastered the art of cashing in on market turmoil. At Tiger Management, Stephen Mandel Jr. earned the title Tiger Cub. Julian Robertson was a hardworking hedge fund manager who removed the door off his corner office to encourage staff to challenge everything he did.
He created Lone Pine Capital in 1997.
In 1997, he departed Tiger Management and launched his own hedge fund, Lone Pine Capital LLC, named after a famous pine tree at Dartmouth College that survived a lightning strike in 1887. Lone Pine Capital LLC has one of the best long-term track records in the industry. Stephen Mandel Jr. used a "bottom-up" approach that helped him pick great stocks. As a result, Mandel has returned an annualized 19.5% since 1997, beating the S&P 500 index every year.
In 2019, he stepped back from daily portfolio management at Lone Pine Capital LLC and left three people in charge: David Craver, Mala Gaonkar, and Kelly Granat.
Stephen Mandel Jr. admires three American legends:
- Sam Walton, the Walmart founder, loved to interact with his team and was obsessed with providing the best value for his customers.
- Jim Sinegal, the Costco co-founder, believed that healthy organizational culture is the foundation of a profitable company. So he focused on paying team members because he wanted all of his team members to live better lives.
- Jeff Brotman, the Costco co-founder, helped Jim Sinegal execute his vision.
Stephen Mandel has been heavily engaged in education in Connecticut and New York. He is a member of the National Board of Directors for Teach for America and donated $25 million to create its first-ever endowment. The organization provides equitable educational opportunities for low-income students.
He also launched two foundations:
- Lone Pine Foundation aims to support organizations that fight poverty by providing every kid with an opportunity to learn and grow.
- Zoom Foundation was established to effect social change through philanthropy.
Mandel also donates a lot of money to hospitals, community service organizations, etc. Stephen Mandel Jr.'s family donated $9.3 million to Democrats and $100 to Republicans in 2020, making them the 20th most active political contributors.
If you had Mandel's money, what would you do?
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