Trading Theories:
In 1982, his book How to Prosper in the Coming Good Years was published. It forecast the largest bull market and surge of economic growth the United States has ever seen. The book was written at a time when the majority of pundits were calling for slowdown in economic growth and stock market, which is exactly the opposite of what Williams forecast.
In 1987, Williams won the World Cup Championship of Futures Trading, sponsored by Robbins Trading Company, trading $10,000 in real money to $1,147,000 in 12 months – a feat no one else has come close to matching. Williams ran his winnings to more than $2,000,000 by the end of September, dropped down to $750,000 after the October '87 crash, and traded back to the $1,147,000 mark by the end of the year.
While some claimed that Williams maintained two accounts during the competition – one for winning trades and one for losing trades – his contest account was closely scrutinized by the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and National Futures Association (NFA) and this allegation was found not to be true.
Williams was the first to author books on seasonality in commodities and was the first to write on the Commitments of Trader Reports, of which he is generally considered the leading expert.
In 1997, at age 16, his daughter, actress Michelle Williams, won the same competition with exactly 1000 percent returns on her US$10,000 investment.[2] As of 2006, Larry Williams' 100-fold gain is the highest in that competition. [3]
The World Cup Championship event is regulated by both the National Futures Association (on whose board Williams has served) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission.
In 1998, he received Futures magazine's First Doctor of Futures Award. The following year, he received Omega Research's Lifetime Achievement Award.
He is credited with having developed different indicators including:
* Williams %R
* Ultimate Oscillator
Larry Williams and Robert Cornuke once embarked on a journey to confirm the Bible as historically accurate and detailed their findings in the books The Mountain of Moses: The Discovery of Mount Sinai (1990), In Search of the Mountain of God: The Discovery of the Real Mt. Sinai and a DVD called Mountain of Fire[4] where they document what they claim to be the real Mount Sinai.
In May 2006, Williams was arrested in Australia pending extradition to the United States for tax evasion of a possible $1.5 million in unpaid taxes from book royalties and earnings related to international seminars he conducted between 1990 and 2001. He has firmly denied any involvement in tax avoidance schemes of any sort. In March 2007, Williams won an appeal in Federal Court in Sydney, blocking his extradition to the U.S. The court found that authorities did not have enough information to properly consider the case against Williams before authorizing the extradition request.[5][6]
Legal Troubles:
On August 2, 2007, three Federal Court judges dismissed William's attempt to block extradition hearings. Williams has been free on A$1,000,000 bail.[7] Lawyers for Williams and two other men wanted abroad, told Australia's High Court that state magistrates did not have the legislative powers to carry out the functions of the Commonwealth Extradition Act. On April 23, 2008, the High Court ruled with a majority of six to one, that the extradition laws were constitutionally valid.[8] On November 11, 2008 Williams agreed to return to the United States to face the charges.
Selected Bibliograhy:
How I Made $1,000,000...Trading Commodities Last Year
by Larry R. Williams
Book Description: Windsor Books, 1979. 4to - over 9¾ - 12" tall. Hardcover brown leatherette with gilt lettering on spine and cover, 3rd Edition. Book Condition: Very good, slight wear to edges and corners, spine straight and tight, pages bright, some underlining throughout the book. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good, in mylar, slight wear to edges and corners. 130 pages.
Status: SOLD June, 2010 to private collector in US.
How to Prosper in the Coming Good Years
by Larry R. Williams
Book Description: Regnery Gateway, 1982. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Hardcover, Red cloth with gilt lettering on spine. Book Condition: Very good, slightest wear to corners, edges and spine extremes, Spine slightly cocked, Pages clean and bright with no marks to endpapers or pages. Excellent copy of this Larry Williams classic. A good historical trading reference of how to approach rebounding markets. 181 pages.
Status: SOLD to Private Collector in US.
Sure Thing Commodity Trading, How Seasonal Factors Influence Commodity Prices:
by Larry R. Williams
Book Description: Windsor Books, 1977. 8vo - over 7¾ - 9¾" tall. Hardcover, green with gilt lettering on front and spine, First Edition with Dust Jacket. Book Condition: Fine, slightest wear to edges and corners, pages clean and bright, no marks. Dust Jacket Condition: Very good, in mylar, slight wear to edges and corners. 150 pages. Collectible.
Status: SOLD to Private Collector in US.
Other Titles by Larry R. Williams
* The Secrets of Selecting Stocks for Immediate and Substantial Gains.
* The Mountain of Moses: The Discovery of Mount Sinai
* Long-Term Secrets to Short-Term Trading.
* The Right Stock at the Right Time: Prospering in the Coming Good Years.
References:
1. ^ University of Oregon School of Journalism & Communication
2. ^ Larry Williams page at Global Investor
3. ^ World Cup Trading Standings page at Robbins Trading Company website
4. ^ Base Institute
5. ^ Market guru Williams granted $1M bail
6. ^ Cloudy forecast for futures trader
7. ^ US stock market trader loses Australian court battle against extradition, International Herald Times, August 2, 2007
8. ^ Zentai loses High Court extradition appeal - ABC News (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)
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