$3.7 billion man tops hedge fund list

The founder of New York-based Paulson & Co. earned the top spot in the seventh annual Alpha Magazine survey of the top-paid hedge fund managers. John Paulson was paid $3.7 billion in 2007, surpassing George Soros of New York-based Soros Fund Management LLC, who received $2.9 billion. James Simons of New York-based Renaissance Technologies Corp. came in third, raking in $2.8 billion. The average compensation for the top 25 fund managers was $892 million last year, up 68% from the 2006 Alpha survey. The list of the top 50 hedge fund managers was complied by Alpha Magazine, which is published by London-based Euromoney Institutional Investor PLC.