XTX Markets’ Alex Gerko Earns £682 Million as Profits Jump 54%: Report
Billionaire trader Alex Gerko earned £682mn from his firm
XTX Markets in 2024, according to filings cited by the Financial Times. The
payout highlights both the rapid growth of the London-based market maker and
the extraordinary rewards of quantitative finance.
£1.28bn Shared Among Founder and Traders
A total of £1.28bn was distributed between Gerko and 30
quantitative traders last year. The group of traders received £597million while Gerko took the largest share.
The payout was reportedly the biggest in XTX’s ten-year history and
represented a 71% increase on the £747mn distributed in 2023. The number of
profit-sharing traders rose from 25 to 30 over the year.
Read more: XTX Markets Posts 50% Profit Jump to £1.28 Billion on Trading Surge
XTX recorded £1.3bn in post-tax profits in 2024, a 54% rise
on the previous year, according to the FT. That performance put the firm among
the UK’s most profitable private businesses.
The company uses large-scale computing power to exploit
small price discrepancies across global markets. It processes around $250bn
worth of trades every day and operates on currency, debt, equity, commodity, and
crypto markets. Its models are powered by 25,000 AI chips, mostly sourced from
Nvidia.
Leadership and Investments
Gerko owns about 75% of the company and has traditionally
managed XTX alongside a co-chief executive. Former JPMorgan executive Hans
Buehler was the most recent co-head before stepping down this summer to return
to academia, the FT noted.
XTX is investing €1bn in a new data centre in Finland to
handle its growing computing needs. Outside the business, Gerko has supported
the creation of a mathematics school in north London and has invested in
AI-focused start-ups, including Anthropic and Wayve.
Gerko is
now among the UK’s wealthiest people and the country’s largest individual
taxpayer, according to Sunday Times estimates. Last year, he set up a family office, named after a planet from the sci-fi series Rick and Morty, to manage his
wealth.
Last year, Gerko lost a legal
battle with Britain’s tax authorities over the treatment of a deferred payment
plan, Bloomberg reported. The ruling left him facing a £22.5 million ($29.1
million) tax bill, which he has argued amounts to double taxation.
Related: UK’s Court Rules against Billionaire Quant Trader Alex Gerko in £22.5M Tax Dispute: Report
The case centered on Gerko’s time at GSA Capital Partners,
where he worked between 2010 and 2015. Appeal judges concluded that Gerko and
several other traders must pay income tax on their share of trading profits,
rejecting their challenge to the tax authority’s position.
The dispute involved whether profits from a deferred payment
scheme, first allocated to an internal investment unit before being distributed
to the traders, should be subject to both corporation tax and higher-rate
income tax. The court’s decision affirmed HM Revenue and Customs’ stance,
ending a years-long battle over the structure.
Billionaire trader Alex Gerko earned £682mn from his firm
XTX Markets in 2024, according to filings cited by the Financial Times. The
payout highlights both the rapid growth of the London-based market maker and
the extraordinary rewards of quantitative finance.
£1.28bn Shared Among Founder and Traders
A total of £1.28bn was distributed between Gerko and 30
quantitative traders last year. The group of traders received £597million while Gerko took the largest share.
The payout was reportedly the biggest in XTX’s ten-year history and
represented a 71% increase on the £747mn distributed in 2023. The number of
profit-sharing traders rose from 25 to 30 over the year.
Read more: XTX Markets Posts 50% Profit Jump to £1.28 Billion on Trading Surge
XTX recorded £1.3bn in post-tax profits in 2024, a 54% rise
on the previous year, according to the FT. That performance put the firm among
the UK’s most profitable private businesses.
The company uses large-scale computing power to exploit
small price discrepancies across global markets. It processes around $250bn
worth of trades every day and operates on currency, debt, equity, commodity, and
crypto markets. Its models are powered by 25,000 AI chips, mostly sourced from
Nvidia.
Leadership and Investments
Gerko owns about 75% of the company and has traditionally
managed XTX alongside a co-chief executive. Former JPMorgan executive Hans
Buehler was the most recent co-head before stepping down this summer to return
to academia, the FT noted.
XTX is investing €1bn in a new data centre in Finland to
handle its growing computing needs. Outside the business, Gerko has supported
the creation of a mathematics school in north London and has invested in
AI-focused start-ups, including Anthropic and Wayve.
Gerko is
now among the UK’s wealthiest people and the country’s largest individual
taxpayer, according to Sunday Times estimates. Last year, he set up a family office, named after a planet from the sci-fi series Rick and Morty, to manage his
wealth.
Last year, Gerko lost a legal
battle with Britain’s tax authorities over the treatment of a deferred payment
plan, Bloomberg reported. The ruling left him facing a £22.5 million ($29.1
million) tax bill, which he has argued amounts to double taxation.
Related: UK’s Court Rules against Billionaire Quant Trader Alex Gerko in £22.5M Tax Dispute: Report
The case centered on Gerko’s time at GSA Capital Partners,
where he worked between 2010 and 2015. Appeal judges concluded that Gerko and
several other traders must pay income tax on their share of trading profits,
rejecting their challenge to the tax authority’s position.
The dispute involved whether profits from a deferred payment
scheme, first allocated to an internal investment unit before being distributed
to the traders, should be subject to both corporation tax and higher-rate
income tax. The court’s decision affirmed HM Revenue and Customs’ stance,
ending a years-long battle over the structure.
