The Midas of Misery

Whether you call them value investors, or contrarians, vultures, or just good opportunists, some people do make money (and lots of it) in down times.

The Midas of Misery:

"Falcone is a Midas of Misery. With $19 billion—nearly 760 times the grubstake he started out with seven years ago—he is snapping up troubled assets in bankruptcy, shorting distressed bonds, and using huge stock positions to agitate for change at underperforming companies. His holdings read like a who's who of market castoffs: media companies, utilities, and steelmakers. Last year Harbinger netted $11 billion, thanks in large part to Falcone's gutsy bet against all things subprime. His personal windfall of $1.7 billion made him one of the highest-paid hedge fund managers in 2007."

Thanks to Carrie M for pointing this one out to me.