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Ken Griffin’s Citadel is the top hedge fund manager, according to LCH Investments data, raking in $16B profit for investors last year and earning $65.9B in net gains since its inception.
This reportedly marks the biggest ever dollar gain by a hedge fund, crossing the over $15B gain by John Paulson on his bet against subprime in 2007, popularly called the “greatest trade ever”.
Citadel’s record profit was made despite the market downturn caused by rising interest rates, geopolitical uncertainty and other macroeconomic headwinds.
LCH Investments found that the top 20 hedge fund managers together generated $22.4B in profit after fees last year, with Citadel accounting for the most. Meanwhile, hedge funds lost $208B for investors in 2022.
A huge sell-off in government bonds in 2022 is said to have helped macro managers mint their biggest gains since the financial crisis.
LCH’s data does not include Citadel Securities, Griffin’s market making firm. Citadel did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Chase Coleman’s Tiger Global suffered $18B of losses last year, driven by the sharp selloff in technology stocks, making it the biggest annual loss in hedge fund history. LCH’s data does not include Tiger’s private equity business.
Fellow Tiger Cub Lone Pine Capital lost $10.9B in 2022, while Christopher Hohn’s TCI lost $8.1B.
Earlier, Griffin said Citadel was very focused on the possibility of a recession.
