Julian Robertson, the legendary hedge fund manager and a founding father of the modern hedge fund industry, started Tiger Management Group in 1980 with just $8m in assets under management - a far cry from the more than $22bn he eventually commanded in the late 1990s.

He shut down his funds in 2000 after suffering heavy losses, but is now back in business, not only managing his own money but also helping to seed and support dozens of smaller hedge funds. A native of North Carolina and graduate of the University of North Carolina, Mr Robertson served as a US Naval officer before moving into asset management as a stockbroker at Kidder Peabody.