Bloomberg – Todd T. Westhus is poised to join George Soros and John Paulson with an unlikely wager.
Soros broke the Bank of England in 1992 by betting on the devaluation of the British pound, netting $1 billion. Paulson took home $15 billion, anticipating the collapseof subprime debt that contributed to the financial crisis. Now, Westhus is trying to transform the $9.4 trillion U.S. mortgage market. The 38-year-old hedge fund partner was the mastermind of Perry Capital LLC’s 2010 purchase of Fannie Mae (FNMA) and Freddie Mac preferred shares at 2 cents on the dollar. Back then, the mortgage giants were just about given up for dead. Today, the companies are profitable and their shares have soared 24-fold.
