Donald Brownstein

A former philosophy professor who used to teach at the University of Kansas in Lawrence, Brownstein grew up poor in the Bronx. Over the last few years, he has emerged as a hedge fund star, specializing in trading mortgage products. Now 68, he founded Structured Portfolio Management in 1996. His $1 billion SPM Core Fund, which he co-manages with William Mok, returned 23.68% net of fees in 2011. His $1.6 billion flagship fund, Structured Service Holdings, returned 19.62%.