Billionaire hedge fund results for the third quarter are in, and the shake-up is bigger than anyone expected. David Tepper walked away with the quarter, leaving even the strongest long-term performers behind.
- Track Tepper’s top holding BABA here.
Tepper Doesn't Just Win Q3, He Runs Away With It
Appaloosa posted a massive 14.71% return, the highest of any billionaire-led fund in the quarter. Tepper's five-year performance? A jaw-dropping 158.8% — the kind of number that makes other hedge fund managers nervous. When markets get messy, Tepper doesn't manage volatility; he monetizes it.
Daily Journal Corp also surprised the field with a 12.94% gain — proof that even without Charlie Munger at the helm, its ultra-concentrated style still works.
Ackman Didn't Top Q3, But He Still Outperformed Most Peers
Let's correct the record: Bill Ackman was not the top performer of the quarter. But with a 5.40% return and a five-year gain of 97.7%, Pershing Square Capital remains one of the most consistent compounding engines in billionaire land.
And his trademark 99% concentration? Still paying off.
Farallon Capital Management (4.50%) and David Einhorn‘s Greenlight Capital (8.04%) also quietly delivered sharp third-quarter returns.
Read Also: Micron, Nvidia, Apple Among Q3’s ‘Hot List’ As Hedge Funds Load Up On Tech All Over Again
Buffett Posts A Rare Losing Quarter
The surprise? Berkshire Hathaway Inc (NYSE:BRK) (NYSE:BRK) slipped 1.19%, an unusual red quarter for legendary investor Warren Buffett. Long-term numbers remain elite — a 7.97% 10-year annualized return — but the third quarter proves even Buffett isn't immune to factor rotations and mega-cap fatigue.
Lone Pine Capital, Dan Loeb‘s Third Point LLC, George Soros‘ Soros Fund Management, Chilton Investment Company, and Leon Cooperman‘s Omega Advisors also finished in the red, with Cooperman the weakest at -6.18%.
Icahn Crawls Back Into Positive Territory
Carl Icahn‘s Icahn Capital Management posted a 1.85% quarter — modest, but at least a step in the right direction after a bruising few years and a still-negative three-year annualized record.
Why Investors Should Care
The third quarter produced one of the widest dispersions in billionaire performance in years: Tepper's 14.7% outperformed Soros's negative 3.7% by more than 18 percentage points.
The quarter once again proved a simple truth: Conviction wins. Diversification didn't. And the boldest billionaire portfolios — Tepper, Ackman, Daily Journal — delivered the cleanest third-quarter hits.
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