David Alger was born as David Dewey Alger on December 15, 1943 in California. He rose from being the director of research in 1971, to become CEO and chief investment officer of Fred Alger Management , one of the largest US money management firms.

He graduated from Harvard, and earned his Masters degree from the University of Michigan in 1966.

Alger frequently appeared on CNBC, and also appeared on other programs such as CNN's Moneyline and PBS's Nightly Business Report, as well as local programs such as the WPXI-TV show Financial Planning.

He died in the September 11th World Trade Center attacks.