Izzy Englander, the founder of multi-strategy hedge fund major Millennium Management, has pipped Ken Griffin, boss of rival firm Citadel, to top spot in a list of the hedge fund industry's top earners for 2023, according to a report by Bloomberg.

The report cites data compiled by Bloomberg from the performance of each firm’s major funds, SEC filings and Bloomberg, as revealing that Englander pocketed $2.8bn last year from a combination of returns on personal investments plus a share of fund performance fees, while Griffin earned $2.6bn.

The bumper paydays came despite more muted multi-strat fund performance last year following the widespread outperformance seen during 2022. Citadel’s main Wellington strategy racked up a 15.3% gain in 2023 while Millennium Management made almost 10%. By comparison, the benchmark S&P 500 returned 23.79% over the year, driven by a continued rally in tech sector stocks.

Other big earners include TCI Fund Management’s Chris Hohn who made almost $1bn from a portfolio of just 10 stocks, with just two of those holdings – General Electric and Canadian National Railway — accounting for more than a quarter of the firm's investments.