From the NY Daily News:
Queens-born John Paulson makes fortune on home foreclosures
John Paulson made billions betting that you could lose your home.
The Queens-born hedge fund titan scored big by making complex investments that would reap huge profits if housing prices drop and mortgage foreclosures rise.
As the housing market tanked, Paulson made $2.7 billion in the first nine months of 2007 to lead all hedge fund bosses.
Things are looking even better for him in ’08 as real estate prices crumble and millions of Americans struggle to stay in their homes.
“I’ve never been involved in a trade with such unlimited upside,” Paulson, 52, boasted to The Wall Street Journal.
…
Despite his regular New Yorker roots, Paulson made his biggest splash as a prophet of doom for American homeowners.“Mortgage experts were too caught up” in their own happy talk, Paulson told The Journal.
Perhaps feeling twangs of compassion, Paulson donated $15 million to a nonprofit group that helps troubled homeowners keep their homes.
His funds jumped by up to 600% last year. And the sultan of subprime predicts there’s plenty of cash to be made by betting house prices will plunge further.
“It’s still not too late,” he crowed.