Hedge managers joins billionaire's club

The money made last year by top hedge fund managers is putting traditional Wall Street pay packages to shame, according to a report in Alpha magazine. In 2006, three hedge fund managers each made over $1 billion, according to the magazine's list of the top 25 fund earners. Hedge fund managers need to earn a minimum $240 million to even secure a spot on the list. James Simons of Renaissance Technologies Corp. in New York was the biggest money maker, taking in $1.7 billion for the year. Kenneth Griffin of Citadel Investment Group LLC of Chicago took in $1.4 billion. Rounding out the top three was Edward Lampert, of ESL Investments, who took home $1.3 billion. The average manager surveyed by Alpha made $570 million last year, compared to $362 million in 2005 and $251 during the year before. Meanwhile, Goldman Sachs Group Inc.'s chief executive Lloyd Blankfein is the wealthiest man on Wall Street, earning $54.3 million in total compensation for 2006. Goldman Sachs is based in New York.