It’s been a decade of booms and busts — and while it’s ending on a bust for many, a few are sitting as pretty as can be in multi-billionaire status. In reflecting on the fortunes of the past 10 years, The Post took a look at who Wall Street’s biggest winners were. To compile our list, we used publicly available information and intelligence from industry players to estimate what people earned from 2000 through 2009. The list measures both gradual increases in net worth and one-off trades that paid off big, but doesn’t include inheritances or mainly passive income.
Many worthy names have been omitted, but as The Post sees it, these are the most significant earners of the ’00s.
1. Michael Bloomberg – $18B
Bloomberg LP
Mayor Mike’s net worth was a meager $2.5 billion at the beginning of the decade, but while he was busy running the city, Bloomberg’s wallet ballooned as his financial data and media empire grew — and grew. Our decade-long total takes into account Bloomberg LP’s value based on his buying back Merrill Lynch’s 20-percent stake for $4.5 billion in 2008.
2. Warren Buffett – $10B
Berkshire Hathaway
The Oracle of Omaha has managed to build his total net worth to more than $40 billion. He shined during the credit crisis, acting as banker of last resort to Wall Street, acquiring a $5 billion stake in the much-maligned Goldman Sachs — a bet that has already netted a $3 billion payoff on paper.
3. George Soros – $10B
Quantum Fund/Soros Asset Management
Like No. 2 Buffett, the Hungarian-American Soros has had an astounding run using an investment strategy many describe as being the opposite of the Oracle’s. Soros has made big, bold bets on everything from stocks to currencies, making billions in the process.
4. James Simons – $9.6B
Renaissance Technologies
The math teacher turned hedge-fund titan delivered perhaps the most consistent performance of the top 10. Over the second half of the past decade, he personally raked in more than $1 billion a year. While his flagship Medallion fund took a beating during the credit collapse, he’s still said to be rolling in dough. Simons, who retired from investing, employed a techno-geek quantitative strategy that many have tried to mimic.
5. Carl Icahn – $8B
Icahn Enterprises
Call him Carl “The Situation.” The legendary investor thrives on stirring the pot at a variety of companies — some have called him a “green mailer” — and has managed to rile more than a few high-profile execs, most recently launching a war of words against Donald Trump. “I guess you just gotta love compound interest,” sources said Icahn has told them about his growing fortune.
6. John Paulson – $7B
Paulson & Co.
The former Bear Stearns merger arbitrage pro made one of the most spectacular bets in trading history, second only to Soros’ 1992 bet against the British pound. Sensing that the housing bubble was about to pop, Paulson wagered on esoteric mortgage-derivative securities, and over the past two years has netted roughly $6 billion — as well as rock-star status. Lately, he’s reversed course to make plays in gold and financials.
7. David Tepper – $6.5B
Appaloosa Management
An estimate by The Post puts Tepper’s net worth at close to $7 billion, with much of that earned during the last few years. Reports indicate he made $2.5 billion for himself from bets that financial institutions such as Bank of America and Wells Fargo would stabilize.
8. Ron Perelman – $6B
MacAndrews & Forbes
Perelman, like Icahn, is an old-school investor who knows how to make money hand over fist in lots of markets. He made $6 billion over the past decade, though we’re not sure much of that comes from the restaurants he owns with Graydon Carter and Renée Zellweger.
9. Steven Cohen – $5.4B
SAC Capital
Not even The Post knows exactly how much Secretive Stevie’s earned over the past decade. But our research and conversations with Wall Street players suggest he’s had a gangbuster run, and that reports of a $6.4 billion net worth are “on the low side.” With money comes problems — he’s now being sued by his ex-wife, detailed in exclusive reports in The Post.
10. John Arnold – $3.4B
Centaurus Capital
This thirtysomething’s meteoric rise among hedge-fund managers is second only to Paulson’s. Thanks to some smart bets on energy, Arnold, a former Enron trader, has become the second-youngest billionaire in the US, with his hedge fund said to have produced annual returns of at least 200 percent since 2002.
Honorable Mentions
* Stephen Schwarzman, Blackstone Group
* Edward Lampert, ESL Investments
* Henry Kravis, Kohlberg Kravis & Roberts n Stanley Druckenmiller, Duquesne Capital
* Bruce Kovener, Caxton Associates
* Ron Burkle, Yucaipa Cos.