Paulson Now Richest Alternatives Billionaire |
Date: Thursday, March 10, 2011
Author: FINalternatives
Four years ago, he wasn't even a billionaire. But today, John Paulson is the richest alternative investments mogul in the world, according to Forbes magazine's latest roster of global billionaires.
With a net worth of $16 billion—$4 billion more than a year ago—the Paulson & Co. chief displaced George Soros as the richest hedge fund manager this year. Paulson places 39th overall on a list once again topped by Mexican telecommunications billionaire Carlos Slim Helú with $74 billion.
There are 1,210 billionaires in the world today, 109 more than last year. The group has a combined net worth of $4.5 trillion.
No fewer than 65 of those billionaires have ties to the alternative investments industry. And six of them are worth at least 10 figures: In addition to Paulson, the alternatives players with at least $10 billion in assets were Michael Dell, who made his fortune in computers but has expanded into hedge funds, with $14.6 billion, Soros Fund Management's George Soros with $14.5 billion, Icahn Enterprises' Carl Icahn with $12.5 billion, MacAndrews & Forbes' Ronald Perelman with $12 billion and retired Renaissance Technologies chief James Simons with $10.6 billion.
As would be expected with a list that grew as much as this one, there are a few new faces: Noam Gottesman of GLG Partners comes in with $1.4 billion, Sandell Asset Management founder Thomas Sandell makes the grade this year with $1.1 billion in net worth, and Trian Partners' Nelson Peltz just makes the cut with a bare-minimum $1 billion. And J.W. Henry & Co. founder and Boston Red Sox owner John Henry is back, also at the $1 billion level.
At least one hedge fund manager fell from the list: Maverick Capital Management's Sam Wyly, who capped a year in which he was charged with fraud by losing his status as a billionaire. Another nearly tumbled off the list: The Blackstone Group's Peter Peterson, who saw his net worth halved last year to just $1 billion.
A handful of alternative investments figures saw their bank accounts rise by at least $1 billion, in addition to Paulson. Simons is $2.1 billion richer, Bridgewater Associates' Ray Dalio and Icahn are both $2 billion richer, Steven Cohen is $1.6 billion richer and David Tepper is $1.5 billion richer.
Alternative Investment Billionaires
| rank | billionaire | alternatives firm | net worth (billions) |
| 39 | John Paulson | Paulson & Co. | $16.0 |
| 44 | Michael Dell | MSD Capital | $14.6 |
| 35 | George Soros | Soros Fund Management | $14.0 |
| 61 | Carl Icahn | Icahn Associates | $12.5 |
| 64 | Ronald Perelman | MacAndrews & Forbes | $12.0 |
| 74 | James Simons | Renaissance Technologies | $10.6 |
| 114 | Steven Cohen | SAC Capital Advisors | $8.0 |
| 162 | Ray Dalio | Bridgewater Associates | $6.0 |
| 169 | Stephen Schwarzman | The Blackstone Group | $5.9 |
| 208 | David Tepper | Appaloosa Management | $5.0 |
| 208 | Samuel Zell | Equity Group Investments | $5.0 |
| 235 | Bruce Kovner | Caxton Associates | $4.5 |
| 268 | Daniel Ziff | Och-Ziff Capital Management | $4.0 |
| 268 | Dirk Ziff | Och-Ziff Capital Management | $4.0 |
| 268 | Robert Ziff | Och-Ziff Capital Management | $4.0 |
| 281 | Henry Kravis | KKR | $3.9 |
| 297 | George Roberts | KKR | $3.7 |
| 304 | Edward Lampert | ESL Investments | $3.6 |
| 310 | Leon Black | Apollo Management | $3.5 |
| 336 | John Arnold | Centaurus Energy | $3.3 |
| 336 | Paul Tudor Jones II | Tudor Investment Corp. | $3.3 |
| 336 | Daniel Och | Och-Ziff Capital Management | $3.3 |
| 347 | Ronald Burkle | Yucaipa Cos. | $3.2 |
| 440 | David Rubenstein | The Carlyle Group | $2.6 |
| 459 | Stanley Druckenmiller | Duquesne Capital Management | $2.5 |
| 488 | Tom Gores | Platinum Equity | $2.4 |
| 512 | Kenneth Griffin | Citadel Investment Group | $2.3 |
| 512 | Julian Robertson | Tiger Management | $2.3 |
| 540 | Nicolas Berggruen | Alpha Investment Management | $2.2 |
| 540 | William Conway | The Carlyle Group | $2.2 |
| 540 | Daniel D'Aniello | The Carlyle Group | $2.2 |
| 540 | Philip Falcone | Harbinger Capital Management | $2.2 |
| 540 | David Shaw | D.E. Shaw Group | $2.2 |
| 595 | David Bonderman | TPG Capital | $2.0 |
| 651 | James Coulter | TPG Capital | $1.9 |
| 651 | Israel Englander | Millennium Partners | $1.9 |
| 651 | Wilbur Ross | WL Ross & Co. | $1.9 |
| 692 | Leon Cooperman | Omega Advisors | $1.8 |
| 692 | Alan Howard | Brevan Howard Asset Management | $1.8 |
| 736 | George Argyros | Westar Capital | $1.7 |
| 736 | Louis Bacon | Moore Capital Management | $1.7 |
| 736 | Glenn Dubin | Highbridge Capital Management | $1.7 |
| 736 | Stephen Mandel | Lone Pine Capital | $1.7 |
| 736 | Jonathan Nelson | Providence Equity Partners | $1.7 |
| 782 | Richard Chilton | Chilton Investment Co. | $1.6 |
| 782 | Theodore Forstmann | Forstmann Little | $1.6 |
| 782 | Alec Gores | Gores Group | $1.6 |
| 833 | Thomas Barack | Colony Capital | $1.5 |
| 833 | James Dinan | York Capital Management | $1.5 |
| 833 | Marc Lasry | Avenue Capital Management | $1.5 |
| 833 | Marc Rowan | Apollo Management | $1.5 |
| 879 | Noam Gottesman | GLG Partners | $1.4 |
| 879 | Michael Hintze | CQS | $1.4 |
| 879 | Thomas Lee | Lee Equity Partners | $1.4 |
| 879 | T. Boone Pickens | BP Capital | $1.4 |
| 993 | Joshua Harris | Apollo Management | $1.2 |
| 993 | Bruce Karsh | Oaktree Capital Management | $1.2 |
| 993 | Howard Marks | Oaktree Capital Management | $1.2 |
| 993 | C. Dean Metropoulos | Metropoulos & Co. | $1.2 |
| 993 | Henry Swieca | Highbridge Capital Management | $1.2 |
| 1057 | Thomas Sandell | Sandell Asset Management | $1.1 |
| 1140 | John Henry | John W. Henry & Co. | $1.0 |
| 1140 | Nelson Peltz | Trian Partners | $1.0 |
| 1140 | Peter Peterson | The Blackstone Group | $1.0 |
Source: Forbes magazine