Richest Hedge Fund Managers Still Rich

Last year wasn't the best year for hedge funds, but the 25 top earners still managed to pull in a cool $11.6 billion in compensation.

Yes, $11.6 billion. Between 25 people.

It turns out that's the third best year on record, according to Alpha Magazine, which publishes the annual list. That's a remarkable feat, considering it was a record year for hedge fund liquidations, according to Hedge Fund Research. More than 200 funds closed up shop as the credit crisis worsened, stocks fell, and Bernard Madoff was exposed as a fraud. Hedge funds overall lost 18 percent last year.

But enough of the bad news. The good news is that there were plenty of familiar names on Alpha's list this year. The top earner was James Simons of Renaissance Technologies, who earned $2.5 billion and proved yet again that the credit crisis did not destroy not all quantitative trading strategies.

John Paulson, the man who seemingly turns dust into gold, clocked in at number two with $2 billion in compensation. He proved he's no one-hit wonder. Paulson, you'll recall, earned $3.7 billion during 2007 after profiting on the subprime meltdown. He was profiled in Condé Nast Portfolio's February issue.

A fresh face was the third top earner for the year. John Arnold, an energy trader in his 30's according to the New York Times, managed to bring home $1.5 billion worth of bacon in 2008.

George Soros, Stanley Druckenmiller, and David Shaw also managed to make it into the top ten list.

Others, such as SAC's Steven Cohen and Citadel's Kenneth Griffin, were conspicuously absent from the list. Better luck next year.

For the full list, click here.

by Megan Barnett