Hedge fund manager John Paulson shutters London office
Hedge fund manager John Paulson, who made billions of dollars by betting against subprime mortgages before the financial crash, has reportedly closed his London business.
Orkun Kilic, the last remaining partner in the London office, has left the firm according to a filing to Companies House.
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A Paulson & Co spokesperson told the Financial Times: “The Paulson European Fund represented a small amount of our AUM. The UK and Western Europe will continue to be an important part of our investment focus”.
In 2016 the firm shrunk its London office down to one floor. Partner Harry St. John Cooper, gold strategist John Reade and two traders also left the firm in that year as the company downsized its London operation.
Earlier this year Paulson said he would consider making his firm a “family office” focused on managing his personal wealth rather than funds from external clients.
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He told According to Sources, an industry podcast, that he could make the change within a couple of years.
The hedge fund manager was the subject of The Greatest Trade Ever by Wall Street Journal reporter Gregory Zuckerman, which chronicled Paulson’s bet against the US housing market.
Paulson & Co was founded in 1994 and is headquartered in New York.