📖George Soros

Probabilistic Thinking

🌳 Advanced★★★★★

Think in probabilities, not certainties.

💬

Think in probabilities, not certainties. Every investment has a range of possible outcomes. Weight your decisions by the expected value of each scenario.

— Soros on Soros,1995

🏠 Everyday Analogy

Valuation is like buying a house: the asking price reflects mood, but true value comes from structure, location, and long-term utility. Good assets still need sensible prices.

📖 Core Interpretation

In Probabilistic Thinking, George Soros focuses on the gap between price and value. Returns come from paying less than what a business is worth, not from guessing short-term market moves.
💎 Key Insight:Expected value calculations guide rational decisions.

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❓ Why It Matters

Ignoring valuation turns even good companies into poor investments. Overpaying compresses future returns and leaves little margin when assumptions are wrong.

🎯 How to Practice

Estimate intrinsic value with conservative assumptions, set clear buy ranges, and act only when price offers a meaningful discount with acceptable downside.

⚠️ Common Pitfalls

Confusing a low price with true cheapness
Using one metric without business context
Overly optimistic assumptions that erase margin of safety

📚 Case Studies

1
Asian Financial Crisis Thai Baht Short (1997)
Anticipating Thailand’s unsustainable peg and mounting foreign-debt vulnerabilities, Soros’s fund took large speculative short positions in the Thai baht and related assets.
✨ Outcome:The baht devalued sharply in 1997; Quantum Fund earned substantial profits, illustrating his readiness to commit large capital when macro imbalances seem inevitable.
2
Asian Financial Crisis Positioning (1997)
Quantum Fund cut exposure to vulnerable Asian currencies and equities as imbalances grew, avoiding crowded long positions before the crisis.
✨ Outcome:Preserved capital and avoided large drawdowns while many regional investors suffered heavy losses.

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