He Manages $40 Billion but Isn't in It for the Money

Robert Wallace is a former professional ballerina who now manages Stanford University's endowment of more than $40 billion.

He oversees a large team and more than a hundred external investment partners, so it's safe to say that he knows what makes a great investor. He explained it on a recent episode of the podcast, In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen:

Some people just have a very facile way of bringing together all of the different type of data, prioritizing it correctly, and synthesizing it in a way that really makes sense. They make the best investors. 
— Robert Wallace

Wallace believes great investors can live anywhere along the risk-taking spectrum.

Because of our temperament and our experience, we all fall on a different part of the risk-return continuum. Some of us are naturally happy taking a lot of risk. And some of us are naturally very risk averse. And I think it's okay to be either.  
— Robert Wallace

Finally, Wallace says that, surprisingly, the best investors aren't in it for the money.

For the great investors, it's not about how much money they make at all. They're generally not motivated by their personal wealth, which is strange to say, but it's very often true. They're motivated by their passion for investment. They love the intellectual challenge of it. They love the constant growth. They love the constant learning. If you're a great investor, you're consumed by what you're doing. That often can look like someone's a little bit on the spectrum, I suppose. 
— Robert Wallace

You can read more about Wallace on the Stanford Management Company's website.

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