BusinessWeek – Hedge fund managers are measured by two things: the size of their fund, and how much they earn for investors. Since 2009, Ray Dalio\u2019s Bridgewater Associates has been the biggest hedge fund. According to a Feb. 29 report by Leveraged Capital Holdings (LCH), a British fund of funds, Dalio has now earned more money for clients than any other fund manager, ever.<\/p>\n
Bridgewater\u2019s Pure Alpha fund, which Dalio launched in 1975, made $13.8 billion in 2011, bringing its total lifetime gains to $35.8 billion. That vaults Dalio over George Soros and John Paulson for career fund earnings.\u00a0Soros is the billionaire investor legendary for making $1 billion in a single day in 1992\u00a0by shorting the pound\u2014giving him a colorful reputation for\u00a0\u201cbreaking the Bank of England.\u201dWhen he\u00a0retired last summer, that froze his Quantum Endowment Fund\u2019s total lifetime net gains at $31.2 billion since its launch in 1973.<\/p>\n
John Paulson, after making billions over the past few years by shorting subprime mortgages, got crushed in 2011, losing $9.6 billion, according to Bloomberg News.That\u2019s double\u00a0Long-Term Capital Management\u2019s epic loss of nearly $4.8 billion in 1998. Since he launched his fund in 1994, Paulson has net gains of $22.6 billion.<\/p>\n