Quoted: The top 25 managers earned, on average, $877 million in 2007, up from $532 million in 2006.
...
This "may well prove to be the greatest display of individual wealth creation in any year in the modern history of finance," Alpha said in the note.

Quoted: There are three sources of return in a long-short equity portfolio. The most obvious
results from the spread in performance between the stocks that are held long and the
stocks that are sold short, i.e. the alpha on the long positions plus the alpha on the short
positions.

In response to this Onion article:
http://bluedot.us/users/melissa,kruse/dot/93805506004

Quoted: A hedge fund is a private investment fund charging a performance fee and typically open to only a very limited range of qualified investors. In the United States, hedge funds are open to accredited investors only. Because of this restriction, they are usually exempt from any direct regulation by the SEC, NASD and other regulatory bodies.
...
However, since hedge fund assets can run into many billions of dollars, and thus their sway over markets—whether they succeed or fail—is substantial, there have been calls for regulation of these private investment funds.