Bill Ackman, whose Pershing Square Capital made $4.5 billion for its investors last year, jumped onto the list of the Top 20 most successful hedge-fund managers of all time, according to an annual ranking out recently.
Ackman, 48, is the youngest investor to make the list, which is compiled by Rick Sopher, who runs the world’s oldest fund of hedge funds, London-based LCH Investments.
The $18.3 billion Pershing earned its investors $11.6 billion since it started in 2004, according to LCH.
The top all-time hedge-fund manager is George Soros, whose $31 billion Quantum Endowment Fund was started in 1973, followed by Ray Dalio’s $81 billion Bridgewater Pure Alpha, launched two years later.
Soros returned $2.3 billion to his investors last year — an 8 percent return — while Dalio posted a profit of $2.5 billion, a 3 percent return.
In contrast, Ackman’s funds earned between 37 percent and 40 percent in 2014, according to investor reports.
Some of the world’s best hedge-fund moguls lost money last year, including John Paulson, down $1.9 billion but still ranked No. 3 on the all-time list for having earned his investors $23.5 billion.
Lee Ainslee’s $9 billion Maverick Capital, which ranked No. 20 in 2013, fell off the list.