Big-time fund managers’ portfolios are popular with investors to follow. But the investing approaches and methods employed by these gurus vary.

So, what characteristics do all successful investors have specifically?

How to Invest: Masters on the Craft, a new book by The Carlyle Group’s billionaire co-founder and co-chairman David Rubenstein, aims to provide an answer.

Rubenstein interviewed some of the most well-known Wall Street individuals for years to write the book, including Ray Dalio, Larry Fink, Ron Baron, and Stanley Druckenmiller.

According to Rubenstein, these legendary investors actually have a lot in common. They typically come from middle-class homes, excel in arithmetic, enjoy reading, and enjoy being in charge.

But what is the most beneficial discovery for your own investing? They are all primarily irrational.

They are excellent because they are so willing to challenge received wisdom. According to common opinion, you are most likely just like everyone else.

So, in this article, we are going to dive deep into this trait and other characteristics that makes these people so special.

Rubenstein provides two examples to support his argument.

The first one concerns John Paulson, a billionaire hedge fund manager.

With the large mortgage transaction, short, John Paulson conducted a well-known move where he allegedly defied expectations and made about $20 billion, according to Rubenstein.

Then there is the tale of Michael Novogratz, who is currently the CEO of the sizable cryptocurrency fund Galaxy Investment Partners.

Mike Novogratz entered the cryptocurrency market at a time when many people thought it was horrible.

 He profited greatly from that. He clearly lost money, but he still made a lot and still has a lot of cryptocurrencies.

Rubenstein has defied accepted wisdom himself.

When others recommended against it because “Washington is a government city,” he founded a private equity firm in Washington, D.C.

 He did, however, succeed in turning the company around “with the support of many others.”

Knowing what common wisdom is a prerequisite for defying it.

The common view, according to Rubenstein, is that the economy is on the verge of going into a recession, the Fed will keep raising interest rates, and there may not be much room for further gains in the stock market.

He points out that according to current common thinking, “tech stocks or cryptocurrencies are not expected to have a lot of equity upside.”

This year, tech equities have taken a beating. In contrast to the S&P 500’s 17% decline in 2022, the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite fell a more agonizing 25%.

Even worse conditions exist in the world of cryptocurrency. The biggest cryptocurrency in the world, Bitcoin, has dropped a startling 60% so far this year.

This is what common sense says. Will you follow it?

Like most everything in life, successful investors typically put in a lot of effort.

Nobody works from nine to five; instead, Rubenstein claims that people tend to arrive later and depart earlier. They are workaholics, not people.

More than simply money is involved. Rubenstein notes that even if these people are already wealthy and have achieved success, they continue to put in a lot of effort because they are passionate about what they do.

He says that for these folks, investment is enjoyable rather than work. And they would continue to do it even if they weren’t earning as much of the massive sums of money they were.

So, it is possible and relatively simple to become rich, however, it takes hard work and sometimes, the strong will to swim against the tide.

If it was so easy, everyone was rich.