Read by Ray Dalio, Naval Ravikant, Mark Manson and 6 others
What books does Ray Dalio recommend?
Ray Dalio, the founder of Bridgewater Associates and architect of a philosophy he calls radical transparency, has left an unusually long paper trail of reading advice, and these 50 book recommendations gather it in one place. Drawn from his appearances on the Tim Ferriss podcast, his own Principles.com reading list, and his LinkedIn essays, the selection leans heavily toward psychology and human behavior, science and technology, and philosophy, with a persistent fascination for how minds and empires evolve. His single most-repeated pick is The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant, which he describes as "a 104-page distillation of the major forces through history." Alongside it sit Sapiens, Thinking, Fast and Slow, and Joseph Campbell's The Hero with a Thousand Faces, a shortlist that reads less like a businessman's syllabus than a lifelong student's attempt to understand the machinery behind everything.
Last updated January 2026 · Every recommendation cited to its original source.
byWill Durant, Ariel Durant
2010128 Pages“The book I'd give [everyone] would be The Lessons of History. This is the Durants, they were maybe the greatest historians of all time. It is a 104-page distillation of the major forces through history.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Tim Ferriss Podcast
Read by Ray Dalio, George Lucas, Jack Carr and 1 others
byJoseph Campbell
2008418 Pages“It's a little bit dense, but it's so rich, it's a good one. I gave Wang [Qishan] a copy... because he is a classic hero and I thought it might help him.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Principles.com
River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life
A Darwinian View of Life
byRichard Dawkins
1995192 Pages(8,963)
“Another very short book on evolution. It just really puts things in perspective.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Principles.com
Read by Tim Ferriss, Barack Obama, Ray Dalio and 21 others
byYuval Noah Harari
2014443 Pages(1,100,000)
“I recommend Sapiens to everyone. It is a brilliant history of humankind that puts our current reality in perspective.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: LinkedIn
Read by Ray Dalio, Sheryl Sandberg, Richard Branson and 1 others
Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World
How Non-Conformists Move the World
byAdam Grant
2016336 Pages“A very good book that explains how non-conformists move the world.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Principles.com
Read by Barack Obama, Sam Altman, Ray Dalio and 14 others
byDaniel Kahneman
2011498 Pages“This book is essential for understanding how our minds work and how to make better decisions.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Principles.com
Read by Ray Dalio, Nir Eyal, Fareed Zakaria and 1 others
The Power of Habit
Why We Do What We Do in Life and Business
byCharles Duhigg
2012400 Pages“The Power of Habit really opened my eyes. I recommend that you read it yourself.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Principles.com
Tribe of Mentors
Short Life Advice from the Best in the World
byTim Ferriss
2017624 Pages“I love Tim's book because it's essentially a collection of great principles from people who have accomplished great things.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Twitter
Read by Charlie Munger, Elon Musk, Ray Dalio and 1 others
byWalter Isaacson
2007675 Pages“I read [this book and 'Benjamin Franklin'] and probed [Walter Isaacson] about them to try to glean what characteristics they had in common.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Principles.com
Benjamin Franklin
An American Life
byWalter Isaacson
2003608 Pages“I read this book... to try to glean what characteristics they had in common.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Principles.com
Read by Ray Dalio, Brian Chesky, Gary Vaynerchuk and 2 others
byWalter Isaacson
2011656 Pages“I noticed a number of similarities between [Steve Jobs and I]... but to be clear, I didn't think that Bridgewater or I held a candle to Apple and Jobs.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Principles.com
From Bacteria to Bach and Back
The Evolution of Minds
byDaniel C. Dennett
2017496 Pages“[From Bacteria to Bach and Back] is about the evolution of the mind.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Tim Ferriss Podcast
The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers
Economic Change and Military Conflict from 1500 to 2000
byPaul Kennedy
1987677 Pages“I found Paul Kennedy's The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers to be an excellent examination of the forces that lead to the rise and decline of empires.”
— Ray Dalio
Source: Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order
The Undoing Project
A Friendship That Changed Our Minds
byMichael Lewis
2016368 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
The Upside of Inequality
How Good Intentions Undermine the Middle Class
byEdward Conard
2016320 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
The Serengeti Rules
The Quest to Discover How Life Works and Why It Matters
bySean B. Carroll
2016288 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future
byDaniel H. Pink
2005304 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World
Ethics for a Whole World
byDalai Lama
2011188 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain
The Secret Lives of the Brain
byDavid Eagleman
2011290 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain
Free Will and the Science of the Brain
byMichael S. Gazzaniga
2011260 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization
Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization
byEdward D. Hess
2014280 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
The Evolving Self
Problem and Process in Human Development
byRobert Kegan
1982336 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
In Over Our Heads
The Mental Demands of Modern Life
byRobert Kegan
1994396 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
An Everyone Culture
Becoming a Deliberately Developmental Organization
byRobert Kegan, Lisa Laskow Lahey
2016336 PagesSource: Principles.com Reading List
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Frequently asked questions
What books does Ray Dalio recommend?
Across 50 recommendations, Dalio returns most often to The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant, Sapiens by Yuval Noah Harari, The Hero with a Thousand Faces by Joseph Campbell, Thinking, Fast and Slow by Daniel Kahneman, and Originals by Adam Grant. His list spans history, evolutionary science, and the psychology of decision-making.
What is Ray Dalio's favorite book?
His most emphatic pick is The Lessons of History by Will and Ariel Durant. Dalio calls the Durants "maybe the greatest historians of all time" and describes the book as "a 104-page distillation of the major forces through history" — the one book he says he would give to everyone.
Where do Ray Dalio's book recommendations come from?
They are drawn from the Tim Ferriss podcast, his Principles.com reading list, his LinkedIn posts and essays, his book Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order, and various interviews and endorsements. The sources span more than a decade of public commentary.
Has Ray Dalio written any books?
Yes. Dalio has authored three books: Principles: Life and Work (2017), Principles for Navigating Big Debt Crises (2018), and Principles for Dealing with the Changing World Order (2021), each distilling the frameworks he built running the world's largest hedge fund.
What genres does Ray Dalio read most?
His recommendations cluster around psychology and human behavior, science and technology, and philosophy, with strong showings from self-improvement and business and strategy. The through-line is understanding the underlying forces that shape people, markets, and history.
All 50 Books Ray Dalio Has Recommended
- The Lessons of History · Will Durant
- The Hero with a Thousand Faces · Joseph Campbell
- River Out of Eden: A Darwinian View of Life · Richard Dawkins
- Sapiens: A Brief History of Humankind · Yuval Noah Harari
- Originals: How Non-Conformists Move the World · Adam Grant
- Thinking, Fast and Slow · Daniel Kahneman
- The Power of Habit · Charles Duhigg
- Tribe of Mentors · Tim Ferriss
- Einstein: His Life and Universe · Walter Isaacson
- Benjamin Franklin · Walter Isaacson
- Steve Jobs · Walter Isaacson
- From Bacteria to Bach and Back · Daniel C. Dennett
- The Rise and Fall of the Great Powers · Paul Kennedy
- The Undoing Project · Michael Lewis
- The Upside of Inequality · Edward Conard
- The Serengeti Rules · Sean B. Carroll
- A Whole New Mind: Why Right-Brainers Will Rule the Future · Daniel H. Pink
- Beyond Religion: Ethics for a Whole World · Dalai Lama
- Incognito: The Secret Lives of the Brain · David Eagleman
- Who's in Charge?: Free Will and the Science of the Brain · Michael S. Gazzaniga
- Learn or Die: Using Science to Build a Leading-Edge Learning Organization · Edward D. Hess
- The Evolving Self · Robert Kegan
- In Over Our Heads · Robert Kegan
- An Everyone Culture · Robert Kegan
- Changing Minds: The Art and Science of Changing Our Own and Other People's Minds · Howard Gardner
- Discovering Your Personality Type · Don Richard Riso
- Who Am I?: 16 Basic Desires That Motivate Our Actions and Define Our Personalities · Steven Reiss
- The Gift of Adversity · Norman E. Rosenthal
- My Stroke of Insight · Jill Bolte Taylor
- Creativity and the Brain · Mario Tokoro
- The Meaning of Human Existence · Edward O. Wilson
- Einstein's Mistakes: The Human Failings of Genius · Hans C. Ohanian
- Destined for War: Can America and China Escape Thucydides's Trap? · Graham Allison
- No Rules Rules: Netflix and the Culture of Reinvention · Reed Hastings
- The Yellow Pad · Robert E. Rubin
- Think Like a Monk · Jay Shetty
- Strength in Stillness · Bob Roth
- What It Takes · Stephen A. Schwarzman
- The Spiritual Brain · Mario Beauregard
- The Role of the Individual in History · G.V. Plekhanov
- Why We Believe in God(s): A Concise Guide to the Science of Faith · J. Anderson Thomson
- Welcome to Your Brain · Sandra Aamodt
- Accidental Presidents: Eight Men Who Changed America · Jared Cohen
- The Holy Grail of Investing · Tony Robbins
- Trailblazer: The Power of Business as the Greatest Platform for Change · Marc Benioff
- The Rise of the Rest · Steve Case
- Think Again: The Power of Knowing What You Don't Know · Adam Grant
- Subliminal · Leonard Mlodinow
- Endurance: Shackleton's Incredible Voyage · Alfred Lansing
- A Magic Web: The Forest of Barro Colorado Island · Christian Ziegler