THE LION OF TWIN CAPITAL MANAGEMENT - DAVID SIMON

When I first met with Mr. David Simon, I instantly felt the presence of a kind spirited lion. I did not understand why I felt such. But it was clear that David, a tall, handsome man, carries a strong and rare energy. I did however wonder where did this rare energy came from? Well David is a classic example for everyone to learn from that anything can be archived and done if you put your mind to it and simply believe. David always felt larger then life and not the other way around. His path in life granted him the capability of being fearless like the lion.David was born in Plainfield, New Jersey and lived in a Garden Apartment there with his parents and sister for 5 years until they moved into their first house when He was 5. It turned out to be the only house he ever lived in while growing up. The house was in Livingston, New Jersey and was about 2000 sq. feet with one full bathroom and a half of bath downstairs. It was in a housing development where almost all the houses looked alike and he would go out in the street to play sports with his friends.

Since his family did not have a lot of extra money when he was growing up he has worked since he was 10 years old. He had paper routes, folder the Sunday papers at the local stationary store and then when he turned 13 he was finally old enough to get limited working papers which he used to get a job at the local car wash. He was one of the guys who would clean your windows at the full service car wash in the winter. In the spring and summer he would play baseball and tennis in local leagues and go back to work in the fall.When he turned 16 he was old enough to get full working papers and got a job selling shoes during the winter at the local mall. He was paid by commission and did very well.

For his summers he would Life guard at local swim clubs or country clubs until he was 20 when he thought he needed a real job for the summer and got a job bartending at the best restaurants in his area which were also the most popular bars. While he was in college he needed spending money and did not qualify for financial aid so they gave him a job at the front desk of the women’s dorm in case there was any problems. Never did he get a lot of homework done. Lol When he looked at colleges his mother drove him to two that were next to each other and said to pick one. David picked the one with a better female to male ratio. Went right to law school after college and have been working ever since. Self made man indeed! No silver spoon was placed in his mouth at Birth. And yet today, David Simon is best known for his achievements as founder of Twin Capital Management LLC, New York City based Hedge Fund firm. But David is at the same time a true philanthropist.

It is in his nature to help people without other people knowing these people are being helped, he respects their being and dignity. Since 1996 the David Simon Foundation provides funding to charities focused on children and overcoming poverty. In 1996 David co founded The Starlight Children's Foundation Westchester Golf Outing, with Mr. Michael Brown.He did it for 3 years and the outings raised about 500.000 for the Charity.From 1999 to 2014, David co-founded the HELP USA Weschester Golf Outing with Mr. Kenneth Cole and Mr. Peter Hochfelder.These outings have raised over 8 million dollars for the Charity. David Simon does not need to show off, he does so to help and does not like other people to know what he does, he prefers to maintain private and discreet. Rather than talking about his achievements David likes to talk about his beliefs. For him, life is a voyage and its milestones are learnings:"

The smartest person in the room can learn from everyone in the room, whether it may be a taxi driver, janitor or Investment Banker, wile the dumbest person in the room thinks he knows it all and will learn from no one".Now how did David come to all of this to begin with?It all started when David studied, he graduated at the top of his law school and got every honor there was to get. He used such status to get a job at a top law firm in New York City. He knew already then that he did not want to practice law but had to use law to leave law. David met two different men on Wall Street who each gave him three names to call to help him find a job. Determined as he is, David took these six names all together and turned them into 150 meetings with various people.It led to two offers of what he wanted to do on Wall Street which was called at the time Merger Arbitrage.I asked David, but why? What made you shift your mind away from law and into another direction with channeling yourself into ambitious ideas to achieve your goals and desires?David showed a soft slight gesture of a smile and explained that when he was in law school he thought he wanted to be an entertainment lawyer.

He worked in LA for a summer at a top firm that did entertainment law. During his time in Los Angeles he realised that Entertainment Law was not all that different than any other law and felt he did not respect the profession or the way large firms were set up at that time."Big firms want you to work your hardest to become a partner and when you do become a partner you work even harder without a significant increase in compensation. In addition your time was never your own. I also disliked what I did as an first and second year attorney and it was hard to get out of bed to go to work in the morning".David majored in finance and accounting in college and taught himself the Mergers Arbitrage and he keeps teaching himself new things every day. His belief is that your Brain is like a muscle and when you stop exercising your brain it gets soft. David: "I believe that one learns from everything, every day of your life you learn something new"Recognising such allows him to have positive and peaceful acceptance in his work and in his personal life. It gives room and space in David's heart and get to this point in his life where he is happy and content with all.It only bettered things, his ex wife for example is the mother of his children and so today he has nothing bad to say about her and wishes her the best in life.

David is a very sensitive man, his children are the most important thing in his life.He only cares about the children's best interests and strongly believes that keeping communication with their mother, is in their best interest that leads to happier children.David is indeed an incredible father that lived his life to make sure his children had a great life.The memories that are engraved in him and his children are one if not the most valuable ones that keep him going.Like taking his children to Broadway Shows a few times a year. Like holding them at birth to stop them from crying. Like coaching his son in sports.All this brings David his love for life, he is a spiritual being that at the same time equally sticks to his Jewish religion that gives him a great sense of belonging and stability.It is his love to the city that brings him energy and at the same time his love and connection to nature. David works out in the gym of his building 3-4 days a week.

He likes to go jogging though Central Park once in a wile, as much as he likes to just walk in the park and take in all of the interesting people.David also enjoys just observing people, whether it be on the streets or restaurants, to see what he can learn by just people watching.Sports is a very big part of David's life that came from his history.He played baseball in college and tennis during his teen years and high school team.Today David should feel an accomplished man with such history and right when it seems that David has done it all, well guess again as for David it will never end. He feels that for him it is only the beginning and intents to continue stretching himself to the limit with new ventures, develop new ideas and never stop helping.Some people at times might mistaken David's success and generosity with taking advantage of his status.

Sometimes being accomplished can be a course and can work against you, often you might doubt who is your true friend and who is not , so you always keep your guards up and question such. According to David "your true friends are the ones you made when you were young and you became friends from a mutual fondness for each other. I think 90% of my true friends I have known for at least 25 years. It is very special, yet hard to meet a new friend at this stage of my life".But David's intentions are always to make the right choices, leaving himself open to new people he meets in his life.

He tends to follow his instincts and is very loyal to all his friends in his life, he will always be there for you, like the Lion king.After hearing David's story, I then understood why I felt the presence of a Lion when we met.I have no doubt that any one who meets David would feel the same.

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