Edward O. Thorp is the author of the best-seller Beat the Dealer: A Winning Strategy for the Game of Twenty-One (Random House 1962, 1966).  It presented the first scientific system ever devised for a major casino gambling game and revolutionized the game of blackjack.  His book Beat the Market (Random House 1967, coauthored with S.T. Kassouf) helped launch the derivatives revolution that transformed world securities markets.  His hedge funds and his personal portfolio have been profitable in 42 of the subsequent 43 years.  Based on his work, he and Jay Regan launched the first market neutral hedge fund in 1969.  Dr. Thorp, with Claude Shannon, also invented the first wearable computer in 1961 to win at roulette.  He has also written Elementary Probability (1966), The Mathematics of Gambling (1984) and numerous mathematical papers on probability, game theory, and functional analysis.

          He completed undergraduate and graduate work at U.C.L.A., receiving the B.A. and M.A. in physics, and the Ph.D. in mathematics in 1958.  He has taught at U.C.L.A., M.I.T., New Mexico State University and was Professor of Mathematics and Finance at the University of California at Irvine.