Edward O. Thorp

Edward Oakley Thorp (born 14 August 1932) is an American mathematics professor, author, hedge fund manager, and blackjack player. He is best known as the author of "Beat the Dealer" (1962). This was the first book to prove that the house advantage in blackjack could be overcome by card counting. As part of this work he collaborated with Claude Shannon in creating the first wearable computer in 1961.
Thorp also developed and applied effective hedge fund techniques in the financial markets. He was a pioneer in modern applications of probability theory, including the harnessing of very small correlations for reliable financial gain.
Thorp received his Ph.D. in mathematics from the University of California, Los Angeles in 1958, and worked at M.I.T. from 1959 to 1961. He was a professor of mathematics from 19611965 at New Mexico State University, and then joined the University of California, Irvine where he was a professor of mathematics from 1965 to 1977 and a professor of mathematics and finance from 1977 to 1982.
Stock market.
Since the late 1960s, Thorp has used his knowledge of probability and statistics in the stock market by discovering and exploiting a number of pricing in the securities markets. Thorp is currently the President of Edward O. Thorp &amp; Associates, based in Newport Beach, CA. In May 1998, Thorp reported that his personal investments yielded an annualized 20 percent rate of return averaged over 28.5 years.