NEW YORK, NY--(Marketwired - May 16, 2017) - James Simons, founder and chairman of Renaissance Technologies, takes the No. 1 spot on the 16th edition of the Rich List, Institutional Investor's Alpha's annual ranking of the world's top-earning hedge fund managers.
One of only two individuals to earn more than a billion dollars in 2016, Simons leads the ranking with $1.6 billion in 2016 earnings and is the only individual to qualify for the Rich List in each of the 16 years it has been produced. Ray Dalio, founder of Bridgewater Associates, the world's largest hedge fund firm with $122 billion in hedge fund assets, earned $1.4 billion in 2016 and has appeared on the Rich List for 14 years.
Quantitative firms, which employ computer-generated investment strategies, continue to be big winners. The four highest earners in 2016 hailed from quantitatively focused firms, including Two Sigma founders John Overdeck and David Siegel, who tied for third place with $750 million each.
Rounding out the top five is Appaloosa Management's David Tepper, who took home $700 million in 2016.
To calculate a manager's earnings, Alpha counts gains on individuals' capital in their funds, as well as their share of the fees. Many of the largest firms still generate huge revenues from fees that far exceed their costs, allowing some managers to qualify for the Rich List. Only individuals at firms that manage money for outside clients are eligible for the Rich List.
The 25 hedge fund managers who made the most money last year made a combined $11 billion -- the lowest total since 2005, when the top 25 earned $9.4 billion. Altogether, 13 managers from last year's Rich List are among the top 25 earners this year, with several qualifying even though they posted their worst results in several years. Over the 16 years of the Rich List, hedge fund managers on the ranking have made a total of $203.6 billion.
Of those who were top ranked in last year's Rich List but missed out this year, four are from firms headed by so-called Tiger Cubs that lost money on their long-short funds in 2016: Chase Coleman of Tiger Global Management, O. Andreas Halvorsen and Daniel Sundheim of Viking Global Investors, and Stephen Mandel Jr. of Lone Pine Capital.
The full 2017 Rich List, including manager profiles, a ranking of the all-time top hedge fund earners, and more can be viewed at http://www.institutionalinvestorsalpha.com/Article/3716778/The-2017-Rich-List-of-the-Worlds-Top-Earning-Hedge-Fund-Managers.html.
The 2017 Rich List - Top Ten
| 1. | James Simons (Renaissance Technologies) | $1.6 billion | ||
| 2. | Ray Dalio (Bridgewater Associates) | $1.4 billion | ||
| 3. | John Overdeck (Two Sigma) | $750 million | ||
| 3. | David Siegel (Two Sigma) | $750 million | ||
| 5. | David Tepper (Appaloosa Management) | $700 million | ||
| 6. | Kenneth Griffin (Citadel) | $600 million | ||
| 7. | Paul Singer (Elliott Management Corp.) | $590 million | ||
| 8. | Michael Hintze (CQS) | $450 million | ||
| 9. | David Shaw (D.E. Shaw Group) | $415 million | ||
| 10. | Israel (Izzy) Englander (Millennium Management) | $410 million | ||
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