World

Richest hedge fund managers in 2023

Citadel’s Ken Griffin is the richest hedge fund manager in 2023 with $35 billion, followed by Jim Simons with $28.1 billion and Ray Dalio with $19.1 billion.

The data comes from the newly released Forbes’ list of the richest hedge fund managers in the world.

Forbes tracks the wealth of 47 hedge fund billionaires whose net worth totals $312 billion. The top 20 hedge fund managers increased their collective wealth by $4 billion to $245 billion. 

The hedge fund industry is dominated by Americans, with only one of the top 10, Michael Platt, coming from outside the United States. 

A hedge fund is a limited partnership of private investors whose money is managed by fund managers who use a wide range of strategies.

Their investment strategies include leveraging or trading non-traditional assets and hedging to earn above-average investment returns.


Ken Griffin

Ken Griffin is the wealthiest hedge fund manager by some distance, with a net worth of $35 billion in 2023. 

His Citadel hedge fund management company had its best year ever in 2022, with a profit of $16 billion. This added $7.8 billion to Griffin’s net wealth in a year. 

Since its inception, Citadel has returned over $65 billion to investors. 

Citadel’s flagship Wellington fund gained 38% in 2022, while the S&P 500 fell nearly 20%. The firm’s assets grew so much that it returned $7 billion in profits to investors at the beginning of this year.

The hedge fund business makes up about one-third of Griffin’s net worth. Half comes from Citadel Securities, which provides liquidity for investors to execute trades and is separate from the hedge fund. 

The rest of his estimated fortune consists of personal assets, including substantial real estate and art collections, plus other investments.


Jim Simons

Jim Simons, the founder of Renaissance Technology, is credited with starting the quantitative revolution in investing and creating the best-performing hedge fund in history – the Medallion Fund. 

The Medallion Fund has averaged an annual return of 66% from 1988 to 2018, returning over $100 billion to investors. 

The success of the Medallion Fund made Simons one of the richest investors in the world with a net worth of $28.1 billion in 2023. 

Renaissance is notorious for its secrecy, with its flagship Medallion fund using a ‘black-box’ strategy to make trades. 

Only Renaissance employees can invest in the fund, and a select few know how the fund’s computers make trades. 


Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio

Ray Dalio founded Bridgewater Associates in 1975 from his two-bedroom apartment in New York and turned it into the world’s largest hedge fund firm. 

He retired as co-CEO of Bridgewater in 2017 and stepped away as chairman and co-chief investment officer in 2021 and 2022, respectively.

Today Bridgewater manages $124 billion in assets, down from $168 billion at its peak at the end of 2019.


David Tepper

David Tepper runs Appaloosa Management, which boasted annualized returns of 25% in its first 25 years. 

He steadily returned the money to clients over the last decade and now operates Appaloosa as a family office with $14 billion in assets.

He bought the NFL’s Carolina Panthers in 2018 for $2.3 billion.


Steve Cohen

Steve Cohen founded the hedge fund Point72 Asset Management, which has $27 billion of assets under management. 

The firm started managing outside capital in 2018, following a two-year supervisory ban stemming from insider trading charges levelled at Cohen’s previous firm, SAC Capital. 

Cohen bought the New York Mets baseball team for $2.4 billion in 2020 and has spent freely on high-profile free agents to make the franchise a championship contender.


Richest hedge fund managers in the world

ManagerNet worthHedge Fund
Ken Griffin$35 billionCitadel
Jim Simons$28.1 billionRenaissance Technologies
Ray Dalio $19.1 billionBridgewater
David Tepper$18.5 billionAppaloosa Management
Steve Cohen$17.5 billionPoint72 Management
Carl Icahn$17.5 billionIcahn Enterprises
Michael Platt$16 billionBlueCrest Management
Israel Englander$11.5 billionMillenium Management
Chase Coleman$8.5 billionTiger Global
David Shaw$7.9 billionD.E. Shaw and Co.

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