Bill Perkins | |
|---|---|
 Perkins in 2015 | |
| Born | February 2, 1964 |
| Alma mater | University of Iowa (BS) |
| Occupation(s) | Hedge fund manager, poker player |
William O. Perkins III (born February 2, 1964) is an American hedge fund manager and poker player. Perkins manages Skylar Capital, an energy trading hedge fund that had approximately $500 million in assets under management as of 2023. [1]
Perkins grew up in Jersey City, New Jersey. His father, Bill Perkins, was a criminal defense attorney who served two terms in the New Jersey General Assembly and played four games as a running back for the New York Jets. His mother was a schoolteacher. [2] He received a B.S. in electrical engineering from the University of Iowa, his father's alma mater, where he was a walk-on defensive back for the Iowa Hawkeyes football team. He did not have good grades and quit playing football before his senior year.
In 1991, Perkins became a trainee for a clerk on the New York Mercantile Exchange. In 1995, during the deregulation of the electricity market in Texas, Perkins moved to Houston to run a trade derivatives and options desk as a trader and risk manager for El Paso Energy, Statoil, AIG Energy Trading, and Zahr Securities. [3]
In 1997, he founded Small Ventures USA, L.P. the lead investor in CUTUCO Energy, a project to build a liquefied natural gas facility and natural gas fueled power plant in El Salvador.
In 2002, he joined his friend and former Enron trader John D. Arnold's new hedge fund, Centaurus Energy. He made $1 billion in trading profits for the firm, including taking the opposite side of trades that led to the collapse of Amaranth Advisors in 2006, making Arnold the youngest billionaire in the U.S. at age 33. Despite annual gains Centaurus shut down in 2012 due to low natural gas prices. Perkins, then founded Skylar Capital, a fund to trade U.S. gas futures, options and swaps. [4] It raised $102 million in capital in its first 3 months. [5] [6]
In 2006, Perkins was a member of the board of directors of NorthernStar Natural Gas. [7]
Perkins has two daughters from a previous marriage to Stephanie Park. In July 2022, he married Lara Sebastian, a dancer. [2] Perkins, a proponent of spending or giving away all of his earnings during his lifetime, lives what has been described as an indulgent lifestyle.
In 2017, he filed a lawsuit against the United States Virgin Islands, claiming that he was entitled to a $5 million tax refund for tax year 2015. [8]
In 2020, Perkins released the book Die with Zero, a book for the well-to-do on how to get the most from money and life, noting that dying with money in the bank means missed opportunities. Some argue it means one is not doing their part improve the world and is lacking in philanthropy.
Poker
Perkins, a poker player, has entered notable events including the World Series of Poker, Big One for One Drop, Triton Poker Super High Roller Series, PokerStars Big Game , and PokerStars Caribbean Adventure. [9] [10] [11] Perkins is friends with and often plays with Dan Bilzerian. [12]
His total live tournament winnings exceed $5.5 million of which $2.7 million came from his One Drop cash at the WSOP. [13] Despite his winnings, Perkins says he has also lost millions and considers himself an amateur. [14]
In 2016, Perkins contributed $1.5 million towards the construction of the William O. Perkins III '86 Athletic Center at St. Peter's Preparatory School, his alma mater.
Erik Seidel is an American professional poker player from Las Vegas, Nevada, who has won ten World Series of Poker bracelets and a World Poker Tour title. In 2010, he was inducted into the Poker Hall of Fame.
Antonio "The Magician" Esfandiari, is a professional poker player and former professional magician, known for his elaborate chip tricks. Esfandiari was the face of the now-defunct poker site, UltimatePoker.com.
Antanas Guoga, more commonly known as Tony G, is a Lithuanian-Australian businessman, poker player, politician and philanthropist. In November 2020, Antanas was elected to the 2020–2024 legislative period of the Seimas of the Republic of Lithuania in the Labour Party group.
John Douglas Arnold is an American philanthropist, former Enron executive, and founder of Arnold Ventures LLC, formerly the Laura and John Arnold Foundation. In 2007, Arnold became the youngest billionaire in the U.S. His firm, Centaurus Advisors, LLC, was a Houston-based hedge fund specializing in trading energy products that closed in 2012. He now focuses on philanthropy through Arnold Ventures LLC. Arnold is a board member of Breakthrough Energy Ventures and since February 2024, is a member of the board of directors of Meta.
Mark Seif is an American poker player, California attorney, and TV show host.
Amaranth Advisors LLC was an American multi-strategy hedge fund founded by Nicholas M. Maounis and headquartered in Greenwich, Connecticut. At its peak, the firm had $9.2 billion in assets under management before collapsing in September 2006, after losing in excess of $6 billion on natural gas futures. Amaranth Advisors collapse is one of the biggest hedge fund collapses in history and at the time (2006) largest known trading losses.
David M. Einhorn is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and amateur poker player. He is the founder and president of Greenlight Capital, a "long-short value-oriented hedge fund".
Shankar Pillai is an American poker player from Commack, New York.
Eric "sheets" Haber is an American professional poker player and hedge fund manager from Syosset, New York.
Vanessa K. Selbst is a poker player, the only woman to ever reach the number one ranking in the world on the Global Poker Index. She has over US$11.8 million in live poker tournament earnings and used to be a member of Team Pokerstars Pro, where she plays under the username "V. Selbst".
Sam Trickett is an English professional poker player. He is best known for finishing second, losing heads-up to Antonio Esfandiari in the Big One for One Drop - winning over $10 million in prize money. He is currently the twelfth-highest earner in tournament play of all time.
Jonathan Duhamel is a Canadian poker professional from Boucherville, Quebec, best known as the winner of the Main Event at the 2010 World Series of Poker (WSOP). He has won three WSOP bracelets in his career.
Sanghyon "Joseph" Cheong is a Korean-American professional poker player who is a World Series of Poker bracelet winner and a former finalist at the WSOP Main Event.
Adrián Mateos Díaz is a Spanish professional poker player.
Daniel Shak is an American semi-professional poker player and hedge fund manager known for his accomplishments in high buy-in poker events.
Daniel Alan Colman is an American high-stakes professional poker player, originally from Holden, Massachusetts. He is best known for winning the $1,000,000 buy-in Big One for One Drop at the 2014 World Series of Poker. He beat Daniel Negreanu heads-up for a first place prize of $15,306,668, the fourth largest single payout in poker tournament history.
Dan Smith is an American professional poker player. He now resides in Las Vegas, Nevada. Smith has won many titles during his poker career, including a World Poker Tour title, a World Series of Poker bracelet and a championship event at the Aussie Millions.
Dario Sammartino is an Italian professional poker player from Naples. In 2019 he was runner-up to Hossein Ensan at the Main Event of the World Series of Poker.
Charles Francis Carrel is an English professional poker player.
Daniel Dvoress is a Canadian professional poker player. He is one of the top live poker earners from Canada.