- Hedge funds raked in big profits in 2020 amid a historically volatile market landscape.
- The leaders of 15 hedge funds earned a combined $23 billion last year, according to a Bloomberg report.
- Listed below are the top 15 earning hedge fund managers of 2020, according to Bloomberg.
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The COVID-19 pandemic presented a volatile environment for the stock market in 2020, offering prime conditions for well-positioned hedge fund managers to rake in big gains.
The top 15 best-earning hedge fund managers made a combined $23.2 billion in 2020, according to a report from Bloomberg. The earnings came from a mix of fund performance fees and gains on personal investment in the fund.
The list includes familiar names like Bill Ackman and Steve Cohen, as well as Gabe Plotkin of Melvin Capital, which lost 53% in January after it was caught on the wrong side of the GameStop short-squeeze.
These were the top-15 earning hedge fund managers in 2020, according to Bloomberg.
15. Gabe Plotkin
Hedge Fund: Melvin Capital
Earnings: $846 million
Fund Return: 53%
14. David Shaw
Hedge Fund: D.E. Shaw
Earnings: $856 million
Fund Return: 19%
13. Andreas Halvorsen
Hedge Fund: Viking
Earnings: $923 million
Fund Return: 27%
12. Joe Edelman
Hedge Fund: Perceptive
Earnings: $969 million
Fund Return: 29%
11. Chris Hohn
Hedge Fund: TCI
Earnings: $1.0 billion
Fund Return: 14%
10. Dan Sundheim
Hedge Fund: D1
Earnings: $1.1 billion
Fund Return: 54%
9. Bill Ackman
Hedge Fund: Pershing Square
Earnings: $1.3 billion
Fund Return: 70%
8. Jeff Talpins
Hedge Fund: Element
Earnings: $1.3 billion
Fund Return: 19%
7. Steve Cohen
Hedge Fund: Point72
Earnings: $1.6 billion
Fund Return: 17%
6. Philippe Laffont
Hedge Fund: Coatue
Earnings: $1.7 billion
Fund Return: 65%
5. Ken Griffin
Hedge Fund: Citadel
Earnings: $1.8 billion
Fund Return: 24%
4. Stephen Mandel
Hedge Fund: Lone Pine
Earnings: $1.8 billion
Fund Return: 23%
3. Izzy Englander
Hedge Fund: Millenium
Earnings: $2.2 billion
Fund Return: 26%
2. Jim Simons
Hedge Fund: Renaissance
Earnings: $2.6 billion
Fund Return: 76%
1. Chase Coleman
Hedge Fund: Tiger Global
Earnings: $3.0 billion
Fund Return: 48%
*The income estimates are based on performance of each firm's major funds, SEC filings, and Bloomberg reporting.