People

David Tepper

David Tepper

Formal First Name
David
Dates
1957 - present
Location

David Tepper is the Founder and President of Appaloosa Management, one of the most successful hedge funds of all time. Specializing in distressed best, he is recognized as the greatest hedge fund manager of his generation who has been steadily returning money to client investors in recent years. His aggressive style and confidence are often seen as his best traits as a fund manager. His trades following the 2008 market crash can be labeled the greatest trades ever made. His views can move the market in some instances when they are widely reported due to his track record as a legendary hedge fund manager.

Professional Experience


Academic History

EARLY LIFE

  • Tepper was raised in Stanton Heights, a working-class neighborhood of Pittsburgh.
  • He paid his own way through school and earned money as a short-order cook at a deli, selling knives door to door, working at a bakery, and stacking books in the library.
  • He demonstrated a strong fascination for football and baseball at an early age.
  • He also began to invest small amounts throughout college, spurring his interest to work within the finance industry.


CAREER

  • Tepper started his career as a credit and securities analyst with Equibank.
  • He worked as a financial analyst at Republic Steel and got his firsthand experience of the credit structure of a distressed company when the company ran into financial troubles.
  • His experience with money management came at Keystone Mutual Funds, working on the high yield desk.
  • He joined Goldman Sachs in 1985 as a credit analyst then progressed to the high-yield desk as a head trader where he worked mainly with junk bonds.
  • After failing to make a partner at Goldman Sachs, he left the firm to strike out on his own.
  • He is still active in the market, but he has expressed interest in converting to a family office.
  • His worth is approximately $13 billion, according to Forbes 2020 The World’s Billionaires List.
  • In 2018, he bought the Carolina Panthers professional football team in a $2.3 billion deal.