Alex Gerko built a quantitative trading firm over the past decade that handles almost $300 billion in daily volume across equities, commodities, currency and fixed income. It’s made him a billionaire several times over, and it’s now earned him the status of the UK’s biggest taxpayer.
(Bloomberg) — Alex Gerko built a quantitative trading firm over the past decade that handles almost $300 billion in daily volume across equities, commodities, currency and fixed income. It’s made him a billionaire several times over, and it’s now earned him the status of the UK’s biggest taxpayer.
The XTX Markets founder contributed about £487.4 million ($602.5 million) to Britain’s public finances in the past year or so, according to the latest Sunday Times Tax List. The former Deutsche Bank AG trader’s London-based firm paid a dividend of almost £1.3 billion in March as it reaps the benefits of volatile markets.
Tim Moxon, a spokesperson for XTX, declined to comment on the tax list.
Gerko, a Russian native who’s now a British citizen, founded XTX eight years ago. He is calculated to have a $6.4 billion fortune through his majority stake in the business, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index
The 43-year-old began his career trading equities at Deutsche Bank and later shifted to foreign exchange. He left in 2009 to join hedge fund GSA Capital before starting XTX.
XTX employs more than 170 people across offices spanning New York, Paris and Singapore. Gerko runs the firm with co-Chief Executive Officer Zar Amrolia — also a Deutsche Bank alumni — and shares profits as well with partners. Gerko, a UK tax resident along with XTX, has previously said he’s happy to hand over the “ton” of levies he’s paying and that he’s in favour of wealth taxes.
Gerko replaces Bet365 Group Ltd. founder Denise Coates at the top of the Sunday Times’s ranking. She was named as the UK’s second-largest individual taxpayer for 2022 with an estimated contribution of around £460 million.
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–With assistance from Tom Maloney.
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