Aarush Garg has never stepped on an NBA floor, but the founder from Long Island says that mentality is exactly what pushed him to launch a hedge fund before most people his age have declared a college major.
LeBron James became the first active NBA player to reach billionaire status in 2022. He fired his agent at 20, built his own management company with three childhood friends from Akron, and turned a $6.5 million bet on Liverpool FC into a stake now worth roughly $90 million.
"What I took from watching LeBron is that he never treated his career like it had one lane," Garg said in a statement on Monday, April 13. "He could have just played basketball and cashed checks for the rest of his life. Instead, he bet on himself in rooms where nobody expected him to be. Soccer clubs, media companies, you name it. That's what made me think, why not me?"
That "why not me" turned into Aarion Capital LP. Garg is the founder and chief investment officer of the multi-strategy hedge fund, which went live in January and trades across equities, options, bonds, and macroeconomic markets. At the center of the operation is VAL, the firm's proprietary AI system, described in a press release as "a risk and volatility intelligence layer built to help interpret financial conditions across multiple environments."
Behind the launch is a process that took shape long before the firm went live. Garg spent years studying derivatives, building and stress-testing trading frameworks that perform well in both high-volatility and stagnant conditions.
"VAL is basically my co-pilot," Garg said. "It doesn’t make trades for me, but it processes a ton of data and helps me make sense of what’s happening in the market. At the end of the day, every decision still comes down to me."
Zooming out, the timing lines up with a broader shift in the hedge fund world. According to Barclays, the sector posted its highest inflows in nearly two decades heading into 2026, with AI-powered strategies and multi-asset platforms drawing particular attention from institutional investors. Garg sees that momentum as part of the opportunity. He developed his trading models through years of studying derivatives and market microstructure, and says the fund has already started drawing interest from accredited investors.
"People hear 'hedge fund founder' and they either laugh or they lean in," Garg said. "And I understand both reactions, I really do. But the conversations I've been having with people in this industry have shown me that what matters isn't how old you are, it's whether your strategy holds up under pressure. That's where my focus is. Everything else is noise."
For Garg, the takeaway isn’t tied to any one moment, but to a broader mindset around growth and execution. He sees long-term success as a function of expanding into new arenas while maintaining discipline in the core craft, adapting to different environments without overextending or forcing outcomes.
As for the man who inspired it all, LeBron is currently averaging 28 points and 12.7 assists over his last three games while carrying the Lakers into the playoffs at 41 years old. With Luka Doncic and Austin Reaves sidelined, he'll face Kevin Durant and the Houston Rockets in Game 1 on Saturday — their first playoff meeting since the 2018 Finals.
“LeBron showed me that longevity comes from evolving, not staying comfortable," Garg said. "In markets, it's the same thing. You can't force opportunities or play every trade. You wait, you adapt, and when the moment is there, you take it with conviction. That's the part people don’t always see."
