Early Life and Education
Stephen Frank Mandel Jr. was born on March 12, 1956, in Darien, Connecticut. He attended Phillips Exeter Academy, graduating in 1974. He then pursued higher education at Dartmouth College, earning a Bachelor of Arts in government in 1978. Mandel later obtained a Master of Business Administration from Harvard University.
Career and Rise to Success
Mandel began his career as a senior consultant at Mars & Co from 1982 to 1984. He then transitioned to Goldman Sachs, where he worked as a consumer-retail analyst from 1984 to 1990. His career took a significant turn when he joined Tiger Management, founded by Julian Robertson, where he served as a consumer analyst and eventually became a managing director. Robertson referred to Mandel as “probably the greatest analyst of all time”. In 1997, with backing from Robertson, Mandel founded his own hedge fund, Lone Pine Capital, named after a Dartmouth College pine tree. Lone Pine Capital quickly became successful, and Mandel was listed as one of the highest-earning hedge fund managers by Forbes in 2012, 2013, and 2018.
Key Business Strategies
Lone Pine Capital employed long/short equity strategies, focusing on bottom-up fundamental analysis to identify global companies undergoing significant, multi-year changes. Mandel's investment approach was grounded in in-depth analysis, concentrating on company fundamentals and long-term growth potential. This disciplined investment approach allowed Lone Pine Capital to successfully navigate market downturns.
Philanthropy
Stephen Mandel Jr. is actively involved in philanthropy through the Zoom Foundation and the Lone Pine Foundation. His philanthropic efforts primarily focus on education reform and environmental conservation. He is the chairman of Dartmouth's board of trustees and chair of the national board of directors at Teach for America. He has also donated significantly to various Democratic political campaigns.