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Centaurus Energy
$1.5 Billion
Energy trading wunderkind John Arnold surged toward the top of this year’s list of biggest earners on the 80 percent return at his Houston-based hedge fund, Centaurus Energy. The former Enron Corp. trader, who manages $5 billion in assets, deals mostly in natural gas, using futures and other derivatives. But he’s also known for his energy-related diversification. His firm has stakes in storage facilities and power plants, and last year it teamed up with Washington-based buyout firm Carlyle Group and Westport, Connecticut–based NGS Energy Fund to develop natural-gas storage caverns. In 2008, Centaurus opened an office in London as a way into European energy markets.
Arnold, 34, has been on a steep upward trajectory since graduating in just three years from Vanderbilt University, where he earned an undergraduate degree in science, and then quickly becoming a star at Enron. He founded Centaurus in 2002 with $8 million.
