Million Dollar Traders Part 1: Million Dollar Traders follows a group of twelve wannabe traders dealing in shares during the events of the financial crisis of 2007-2009 which was then whittle down to the final eight. The contestants came from various backgrounds, including a fight promoter, a day trader, a IT/Banking recruitment consultant, a working mother, a retired IT engineer, and a student, among others. During the series hedge fund manager Lex van Dam gave the contestants $1 million of his own money to trade for 2 months. Professional trader Anton Kreil, was appointed as the manager of the group