The third-quarter hedge fund results are in, and they're messier than expected. David Tepper didn't just win Q3—he absolutely dominated it, leaving even the most reliable long-term performers in his dust.
Tepper's Blowout Quarter
Appaloosa posted a massive 14.71% return for the quarter, the strongest showing among any billionaire-led fund. But here's the really impressive part: Tepper's five-year track record now sits at 158.8%, the kind of number that makes other hedge fund managers check their math twice. When markets turn volatile, Tepper doesn't just survive the chaos—he profits from it.
Daily Journal Corp also turned heads with a 12.94% gain, proving that its ultra-concentrated investment approach still works even after Charlie Munger's passing.
Ackman Keeps His Winning Streak Alive
Let's clear something up: Bill Ackman wasn't the quarter's top performer. But with a 5.40% return and a five-year gain of 97.7%, Pershing Square Capital continues to be one of the most reliable wealth-compounding machines in the billionaire investing world.
His trademark strategy of extreme concentration—keeping roughly 99% of assets in a handful of high-conviction bets—continues to deliver results.
Farallon Capital Management gained 4.50% for the quarter, while David Einhorn's Greenlight Capital posted an impressive 8.04% return, quietly putting together a strong three months.
Buffett's Unusual Red Quarter
Here's the surprise: Berkshire Hathaway (BRK.B) slipped 1.19% during the quarter, an uncommon negative showing for legendary investor Warren Buffett. His long-term numbers remain elite—a 7.97% annualized return over 10 years—but the third quarter proves that even Buffett isn't immune to factor rotations and mega-cap exhaustion.
Lone Pine Capital, Dan Loeb's Third Point LLC, George Soros' Soros Fund Management, Chilton Investment Company, and Leon Cooperman's Omega Advisors all posted negative returns as well. Cooperman had the roughest quarter at negative 6.18%.
Icahn Shows Signs of Recovery
Carl Icahn's Icahn Capital Management posted a 1.85% gain for the quarter. It's modest, sure, but it represents forward progress after several difficult years that left his three-year annualized return still underwater.
What This Means for Investors
The third quarter produced one of the widest performance gaps among billionaire investors in recent memory. Tepper's 14.7% gain outpaced Soros's negative 3.7% return by more than 18 percentage points—a massive dispersion that reveals something important about market conditions.
The quarter reinforced a fundamental investing truth: high-conviction strategies won, diversification didn't. The boldest, most concentrated portfolios—Tepper's, Ackman's, Daily Journal's—delivered the strongest results when the quarter was over.