Anton Travels the World

This is a shot from Anton’s website www.antonkreil.com on a beach in Australia. This was during his travelling days in the period 2007-2008 before the TV Show Million Dollar Traders.

In May 2007 when Anton Kreil left JP Morgan and the investment banking industry it was a brave move. He had a successful career and was still young at 28 years old. When he left university, he went straight to New York to work for Goldman Sachs on Wall Street. When he left high school he went straight to university. At university he traded and made $200,000 whilst doing his degree. He worked summer and part time jobs even when he was at school. So if we assume he was doing work from 13 or 14 years old, it means that by the age of 28 when he left JP Morgan, Kreil had worked a solid 13-14 years already.

When you put this into the context of how European university students only really start their careers by the time Kreil had finished his, this really puts his achievement into perspective. In fact that’s crazy what he did! We know that when he left JP Morgan, he was a multi-millionaire at the age of 28. So, it would seem completely sensible for him to take some sort of break. Kreil has said in interviews that he had never truly seen the world. Only travelling to financial centers globally on business trips. He said he went travelling to gain perspective.

There are some traits that we want to highlight here that are apparent in Kreil’s character. When he left the investment banking industry, he was young and wealthy. He decided to sell everything he owned and travel with one suitcase around the world. He got rid of properties in London and all of his possessions in order to pursue his travelling activities. There is a stoic quality to this. Kreil very obviously does not value possessions above his own happiness and goals. If he did, he would have gone travelling and kept all his possessions and properties in London and then returned to them after his travels. He made a conscious decision not to do this. Additionally, whenever you see Kreil he is never wearing a fancy watch or jewelry, carrying a fancy phone or electronic devices. He doesn't own cars. He gets driven everywhere and only rents cars if he is on Vacation. He buys properties for cash and doesn’t buy fancy properties that he cannot afford. He owns properties in Thailand and Brazil and whenever he owns properites, he buys them for cash with no debt / mortgages.

This is Anton Kreil in Belize on his travels in 2007-2008

When you piece this together it’s very obvious the way that Kreil thinks. He clearly understands value. He is a successful trader, but he doesn’t see value in possessions. He likes to keep his life simple and uncluttered. He doesn’t like to be responsible for possessions. The traits he displayed here in May 2007 when giving up the investment banking career / life and selling everything to travel the world with just one suitcase demonstrate that perfectly. So, all the time he was an investment bank trader he valued his work and himself, but he didn’t value the possessions and trappings that came with his work. This may or may not have something to do with his childhood experiences. Maybe Kreil realized that he was happier with no possessions versus having everything he dreamed of? This could also be the religious influence of his upbringing in Liverpool.

We know from Kreil’s interviews online that he travelled around the world for about 12-13 months and visited mostly Central and South America and the Asia Pacific region. We also know that he didn’t travel 5 star. He travelled like every other backpacker does, with one bag, staying in hostels around the world. He went from the command center behind the desks of the world’s biggest investment banks to travelling like a backpacker within a matter of weeks, staying on the road and travelling for over a year.

This is pretty astounding if you think about it. It shows Kreil is adaptable to any environment. He can be one minute on the phone and in meetings with CEO’s and powerful people on Wall Street and the next minute be just as comfortable and feeling just at home in a hostel hanging out with backpackers. This is a rare quality. It shows his adaptiveness, willingness to engage, energy for life and willingness to pursue new experiences. It is rare to find someone who can do just one of these activities, but to be able to do both so seamlessly and to such extremes is indeed rare.

Kreil returned to London in June 2008 to film the TV show Million Dollar Traders produced by the BBC.

Traits we can take from Anton’s decision to go travelling, and his time travelling the World:

Do not value possessions over your happiness and goals
Keep your life uncluttered and simple
Be adaptable to any environment
Be willing to adapt
Be willing to pursue new experiences
Be willing to engage with anyone
Have an energy and a zest for life