Hedge-fund billionaire John Paulson’s big gold bet is starting to look a little shinier.
Last year, Paulson refused to abandon his love of the yellow metal as it had its worst year in more than three decades.
Paulson held onto to both gold miner AngloGold Ashanti — of which he is the second-largest shareholder — and the SPDR Gold Trust, a gold ETF that is the third-largest stock holding of the firm’s $21 billion portfolio, recent filings show.
That’s been good news for Paulson’s hedge funds in 2014. The $400 million Paulson Gold fund gained 18 percent through Jan. 31, according to someone familiar with the results.
Two other Paulson funds invested in gold, Paulson Advantage and Paulson Advantage Plus, gained 2.2 percent and 2.8 percent, respectively, in January, according to an investor report.
That’s in contrast to a 3.5 percent decline in the S&P 500.
Meanwhile, gold has been on a tear, hitting $1,326.40 an ounce Monday, its highest price since Oct. 31, in a comeback fueled by the dollar’s weakness.
Gold fell 27 percent last year, its worst performance in 32 years, taking a shine off of Paulson’s gambit.
This year, the SPDR Gold Trust has gained 21.5 percent.
For Paulson, the biggest gold turnaround has come in the South African AngloGold Ashanti, the world’s third-largest gold producer, which he has long trumpeted.
The company is up 43.3 percent this year after falling 62.6 percent in 2013.
Paulson owns 7.8 percent of the company, whose chairman, Tito Mboweni, resigned Monday amid labor strife in the country’s mining industry.
The hedge fund mogul bought his 31.4 million shares in AngloGold in 2009 in the $30 range; it closed Friday at $17.47.