Daniel Seth Loeb (born December 18, 1961) is the founder and chief executive of Third Point LLC, a New York-based hedge fund with $12.9 billion in assets.

Biography
Loeb was raised in a Jewish family in the Los Angeles area, one of three children of Ronald and Clare Spark Loeb. His father was a partner at the Los Angeles law firm of Irell & Manella LLP and general counsel for Williams-Sonoma. His mother is a historian. Loeb’s great-aunt, Ruth Handler, created the Barbie doll and co-founded Mattel Inc.

According to Bloomberg Markets Magazine, Loeb grew up in Santa Monica Canyon in California, and attended Palisades Charter High School, commonly known as 'Pali High' in the Pacific Palisades neighborhood of Los Angeles. Later, he attended University of California at Berkeley for two years before subsequently graduating from Columbia University with a degree in Economics.

Prior to founding Third Point in 1995, Loeb worked at Citicorp and Warburg Pincus.

He is also a founding Master Player of the Portfolios with Purpose virtual stock trading contest.

Opinions

Loeb is well known in the financial world for writing public letters, in which he expresses disapproval of the performance and conduct of other financial executives. Supporters contend his letter writing is effective shareholder activism; critics counter that his letters are distracting for executives and uncomfortable for investors. Less than 10% of Third Point's total assets under management goes to shareholder activism.

Loeb has argued that the United States government is undergoing a 'crisis of leadership'; in his opinion, the administration of President Barack Obama is committed to 'redistribution rather than growth'.

In 2013, Loeb was a signatory to an amicus curiae brief submitted to the Supreme Court in support of same-sex marriage during the Hollingsworth v. Perry case.