James Simons of Renaissance Technologies and T. Boone Pickens, Jr. of BP Capital Management brought home more than $1 billion apiece in 2005, seating them firmly atop Institutional Investor’s Alpha magazine’s list of the Top 25 highest paid hedge fund managers.
Simons took the top spot, earning $1.5 billion, while Pickens came in at a close No. 2 with $1.4 billion.
This year’s list is the first time two managers have shattered the $1 billion threshold at the same time. A year ago, Edward Lampert of ESL Investments garnered world-wide media attention when he topped the $1 billion mark.
The Top 25 list actually ranks 26 managers because of a tie for the No. 25 spot, and each manager raked in, on average, $363 million. The average marks a 45% improvement from the $251 million average for 2004.
George Soros of Soros Technologies took the No. 3 spot with $840 million, putting him three spots ahead of last year’s ranking.
Stephen Cohen remains at the same No. 4 rank he took home last year with earnings topping $550 million.
Rounding out the top five is Paul Tudor Jones, who earned over $500 million placing two spots higher than he was in 2004’s rankings.