- "With one chapter closing, a new one is beginning for me and I look forward to continuing as an active participant in financial markets," he said in a letter to investors seen by the news agency.
- Paulson is famous for betting against the US housing market before the financial crisis and reaping huge returns, reportedly making a $20 billion profit.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories .
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Billionaire John Paulson, who netted $20 billion from the 2008 'Big Short' crisis, quits the hedge fund world
John Paulson has quit the hedge fund world to focus on turning his business into a family office investment firm, according to Bloomberg.
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Billionaire John Paulson is the latest hedge fund celebrity to walk away from the business, Bloomberg reported on Wednesday.
64-year-old Paulson will be converting his hedge fund, John Paulson & Co, into an investment firm solely meant for his family.
"The last 26 years of running an asset management firm have been thoroughly rewarding," the billionaire wrote in a letter to investors seen by Bloomberg. "Recent volatility notwithstanding, I am proud of our long-term returns."
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Early last year, Business Insider reported Paulson was weighing whether to convert his hedge fund into a family office within the "next year or two."
He had said his own wealth made up 75% to 80% of the firm's assets.
Paulson & Co was founded in 1994 with a $2 million investment. The fund managed roughly $9 billion as of 2019.
Read More: Stock analysts are having a moment in the sun as the market gets flipped upside down. We spoke to 11 of the top-ranked on Wall Street to get their forecasts and single-stock picks. In a podcast appearance in early 2019, Paulson cited fellow hedge-fund managers George Soros and Stanley Druckenmiller as two investors had moved on from wealth management to focus on their personal fortunes, and ones he could follow. Paulson netted huge profits for his clients by making bets against the US housing market in early 2006, when he was 49 years old. Between 2007 and 2008, that trade paid off spectacularly as he managed to net $20 billion in profits for clients and employees. His own personal gains at the time stood at nearly $4 billion one of the largest fortunes accumulated from a crisis in the history of financial markets. "With one chapter closing, a new one is beginning for me and I look forward to continuing as an active participant in financial markets," Paulson wrote in his letter to investors. Paulson is the latest investing superstar to quit the hedge fund business. Last year, Louis Bacon shut his flagship Moore Capital hedge fund to external investors. David Tepper also turned his fund into a family office , although he said he planned to retain a few outside clients. Leon Cooperman called "private equity" a scam and returned billions of client money to run his own family-focused firm. Read More: GOLDMAN SACHS: Buy these 15 super-cheap stocks now before their prices catch up to their strong growth and earnings prospects NOW WATCH: Why electric planes haven't taken off yet See Also: Stock analysts are having a moment in the sun as the market gets flipped upside down. We spoke to 11 of the top-ranked on Wall Street to get their forecasts and single-stock picks. JPMorgan breaks down how COVID-19 nearly destroyed one of the market's safest trades and lays out 3 lessons to help investors tackle future crises A market-crash expert known as 'Dr. Doom' warns a 10-year depression is coming and says investors are far too confident about a possible recovery SEE ALSO: Fed officials pushed for clearer guidance on future policy, meeting minutes show
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