I have followed The Forbes 400 for most of my professional life, closely watching its changes. Some of the richest people in America came from families who built businesses over the decades-just from my hometown of Chicago we had the Wrigleys, Crowns and Pritzkers. Recently I've noticed hedge fund managers whose fortunes seem to come from out of the blue. This year 9 of the top 100 on the list made their fortunes in hedge funds. While George Soros (No. 14) has been well known for a long time, John Paulson (No. 20) was unknown outside hedge fund circles until he made $3.5 billion with a well-timed bet against subprime mortgages in 2007.These days billions can be made fast, the way Sergey Brin and Larry Page of Google and Facebook's Mark Zuckerberg have joined the 11-figure club. Although very young, those entrepreneurs created revolutionary products that are likely sustainable for years to come.
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