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person1993–2017

Robert Mercer

Disciplines:
politics/political funding
computer science/computational linguistics
quantitative finance/renaissance technologies

Summary

American computer scientist who joined Renaissance Technologies from IBM in 1993 — becoming co-CEO with Peter Brown — and who became controversial for his political funding of Breitbart News, Donald Trump's 2016 campaign, and Cambridge Analytica.

Core Contribution

Contributed to Renaissance Technologies' machine learning models from his IBM speech recognition background — and as co-CEO helped maintain the Medallion fund's performance — while becoming one of the most politically consequential investors of the 2010s through his funding activities.

Historical Influences

Jim Simons

Intellectual Lineage

IBM T.J. Watson ResearchRenaissance Technologies Political funding

Contemporaries & Peers

Peter Brown Jim Simons

Minds Influenced

Renaissance Technologies modelsUS political funding landscape

Intellectual Posterity

Renaissance Technologies co-CEOBreitbart fundingCambridge Analytica funding

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Robert Mercer

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