This Week in Billionaires: Soros Says Goodbye, Paulson Admits Mistake (BAC, C, WFC, AAPL, DNDN, MON)

Chastened by the declines in some financial services stocks, hedge fund legend John Paulson told investors last Thursday that he was “too aggressive” with some of his bets on the sector in his flagship funds and that he was reducing some of that risk profile. Specifically, Paulson said he is moving away from bank stocks with heavy mortgage exposure. Paulson’s Paulson & Co. has been through a trying first half of 2011 as the Advantage fund was off 12% and the Advantage Plus fund was down 18%, according to Reuters. At the end of the first quarter, Paulson & Co. held stakes in Bank of America (BAC), Citigroup (C), and Wells Fargo (WFC), to name a few. To see Paulson & Co’s top, U.S.-listed, equity holdings, visit tickerspy.com.

Legendary investor George Soros is hanging up his hedge fund spikes, ending an illustrious career that has lasted over four decades. Soros’ $25.5 billion firm will return less than $1 billion to outside investors by the end of this year and then focus on managing assets for Soros and his family, Bloomberg News reported, citing sources with knowledge of the matter. Soros made the announcement in a letter to investors. Soros’ firm, Soros Fund Management, would have been required to register with the SEC in 2012 due to new financial regulations and that prompted his sons to make the decision to stop managing outside money, according to Bloomberg. Soros Fund Management did hold stakes in stocks at the end of the first quarter, some of the companies included Apple (AAPL), Dendreon (DNDN), and Monsanto Company (MON). To see Soros Fund Management’s top, U.S.-listed, equity holdings, visit tickerspy.com.

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Tags: AAPL, BAC, C, DNDN, MON, WFC