"Even as regulators push to rein in compensation at Wall Street banks, top hedge fund managers earn more than 50 times what the top executives at banks are paid.The 25 best-paid managers took home a collective $12.94 billion in income during a year of tremendous market volatility that was so bad for some Wall Street investors - a “hedge fund killing field.” A few hedge funds flamed out; others simply closed down. Some of the biggest names in the industry lost their investors billions of dollars. Yet for the biggest hedge fund managers, these men have more money and influence than ever before and do more business than many banks, including lending to low-income homeowners and small businesses. They lobby members of Congress. And they have put large sums of money behind presidential candidates, at times pumping tens of millions of dollars into super PACs.
At www.nytimes.com
