Bridgewater CEO’s Past Office Romance Led to Favoritism Claims

This spring, Nir Bar Dea finally got the role he’d been working toward for years, becoming sole chief executive officer of the world’s biggest hedge fund.

In his new job, he was looking to reshape the giant Bridgewater Associates. His goals: Keep clients and revamp the quirky culture of the company founded almost five decades before by Ray Dalio, who demanded “radical transparency” from his co-workers as a means to reach his idea of corporate nirvana — meaningful work and meaningful relationships.

Yet the tight-knit, insular nature of the firm, where many employees join right out of college, ...