Former Math Professor Earns $1.7 BILLION in 2006

The news that some top hedge fund managers are earning receiving annual compensation packages of over one billion dollars per year is finally cutting through the clutter in our capitalist society. Alpha magazine has compiled a list of the most highly compensated hedge fund managers. The top three all made over one billion dollars: former mathematics professor James Simons of Renaissance Technologies, $1.7 billion; Kenneth Griffin of Citadel Investment Group , $1.4 billion and Edward Lampert of ESL Investments, $1.3 billion; George Soros just missed the "billionaire boys club" by only taking home $950 million in salary last year.

1) James Simons,Renassance technologies, $1.7 Billion
2) Ken Griffin,Citadel Investments, $1.4 billion
3) Edward Lampert, ESL Investments, $1.3 Billion
4) George Soros, Soros Fund, $950 Million
5) Steven Cohen,SAC Capital, $900 Million
6) Bruce Kovner,Caxton Associates,$715 Million
7) Paul Tudor Jones,Tudor Investments, $690 Million
8) Tim Barakett, Atticus Capital, $675 Million
9) David Tepper,Appaloosa Management, $670 Million
10) Carl Icahn, Icahn Partners, $600 Million

The Los Angeles Times quotes Stephen Lerner from the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) as saying about such massive salaries: "It's just not healthy for society."

Hey, now when a student says "what is this math good for?" I can reply, "If you're good at it, you could beome a billionaire!"