Paulson and Co. Inc. Profile

Paulson and Co. Inc.

Run by: John Paulson

Claim to Fame: Made himself and investors in his funds billions of dollars when he correctly predicted a collapse in the United States housing market.

Paulson and Co. Inc. went short on CDO slices and bought credit-default swaps in anticipation of a collapse in the mortgage market. Paulson started putting on these positions in 2005, and patiently waited as his (initially) losing positions became big winners.

2007 was a very big year for Paulson, as his predictions came to fruition and he became a multi-billionaire almost overnight. The subprime mortgage market collapsed, and Paulson and his investors reaped the rewards.

The Paulson Credit Opportunities and Paulson Credit Opportunities II funds were two of the most successful hedge funds of 2007, as both capitalized on the imploding mortgage market.

John Paulson became a media sensation overnight. Billions of dollars of new capital poured into his fund, and his company now manages approximately $35 billion dollars in total assets. With many other hedge funds besieged by investor redemption requests, the money continues to pour into Paulson and Co. The company is now one of the largest hedge fund operations in the world.

Recent Results: More of the same.

According to a recent article on Bloomberg.com, four of Paulson's funds were included in the list of the top performing hedge funds through the first three quarters of 2008.

Paulson's Advantage Plus Ltd fund is reportedly up 33% YTD, while the smaller Advantage LTD fund is up 21% YTD.

Recent News: Paulson recently announced that he sees "opportunities" this year to buy mortgage-backed debt.

John Paulson also recently appeared in front of the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform in Washington and offered testimony, along with a number of other high-profile fund managers.