The combined earnings of the world's top 25 hedge fund managers of more than $14bn (£7.49bn) exceeded the national income of Jordan last year and three individuals took home more than $1bn, according to the biggest annual industry survey.

The survey by Alpha Magazine put Jim Simons of Renaissance Technologies on earnings of $1.7bn, Ken Griffin of Citadel Investment Group on $1.4bn and Eddie Lampert of ESL Investments on $1.3bn. The previous year, two managers, Mr Simons and the septuagenarian T Boone Pickens of BP Capital Management, topped the $1bn mark.