Hedge fund manager Clake invests in underwater treasure hunts
Clake supports expeditions retrieving treasures from sunken ships
The head of Europe’s largest hedge fund, Anthony Clake of Marshall Wace, has quietly become one of the world’s most successful treasure hunters. While not physically venturing into sunken ships himself, Clake invested substantial sums in expeditions and discreetly sold the recovered jewellery for an estimated $50 billion.
Clake utilised cutting-edge technologies for treasure hunting, including a $1 million investment in marine robots capable of diving 6,000 km underwater and a sonar system that maps the seafloor in 3D.
Since 2015, Clake, acting as a financier-hunter, has been involved in the discovery of eight known shipwrecks. He typically receives around 25% of the total value of the treasure recovered from each sunken ship. To circumvent reporting rules, his team strategically moved the discovered treasures underwater before bringing them ashore.
Among Clake’s discoveries are gold barrels, tons of silver coins, pearls, and various pieces of jewellery. Despite the substantial profits, Clake claims he doesn’t do this for a living, he’s just interested in using technology to solve problems underwater.
