Here are the top 10 managers for 2009 in terms of net compensation. The majority of this comp is based on performance fees, plus investment returns on their own money.
The top 25 earners were paid a collective $25.3 billion. The lowest earner on the list earned a puny $350 million — a shanda! — making it embarrassing to even show his face at the country club. (What a loser).
Here’s your top 10 list:
Top Earning Fund Mangers
1.David Tepper, Appaloosa Management
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $4 billion
2. George Soros, Soros Fund Management
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $3.3 billion
3. James Simons, Renaissance Technologies
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $2.5 billion
4: John Paulson, Paulson & Company
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $2.3 billion
5: Steve Cohen, SAC Capital Advisors
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $1.4 billion
6. (tie): Carl Icahn, Icahn Capital
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $1.3 billion
6. (tie): Edward Lampert, ESL Investments
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $1.3 billion
8. (tie): Kenneth Griffin, Citadel Investment Group
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $900 million
8. (tie): John Arnold, Centaurus Advisors
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $900 million
10. Philip Falcone, Harbinger Capital Partners
Est. 2009 personal earnings: $825 million
All data, NYT, Absolute Return + Alpha.com
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As I have noted in the past, I have no problem with anyone making absurd amounts money of who actually earned it through their skill or creativity or business acumen. If you create something (Search engine, iPhone, etc.) or if you are an being outstanding investor or stock picker or trader, so be it.
My issue is with the people who rape and pillage their charges, leaving a destroyed firm behind, and the bills covered by the shareholders or taxpayers.
Last year I watched a TV documentary about the best paid manager in Germany, Josef Ackermann, the manager of Deutsche Bank who was earning 8 million a year. If we compare it to US, in 2009 David Tepper earned in $4 billion.... billion not million! All this happened in the year when millions of people lost their homes and hundreds of millions were fired.
ReplyDeleteI am sure that all those very-well paid people are extremely clever and that in a normal world when everyone is paid according to their contribution to the economy they will win millions, but not billions.
When Steve Jobs created the iPod iPad or when an engineer creates a new engine or when someone invents something which will make our lives better and help us save the environment, in these cases I absolutely agree that these people deserve to get a big salary.
Now the question is what these people from the Hedge- funds are doing! They simply avoid the existing regulation and operate in a one other world without any regulations. And what actually happened after the crisis, when a lot of people thought that the economy lost a lot of money, is that the huge amount of money was asymmetrically distributed. The rich got richer and the poor and middle class people got poorer.