Edens extended an attractive offer to Briger: Buy in as a founding partner and build his business there. The setup was supposed to make so much sense that another industryfund of fundssprang up. Crew C.E.O. In 2008 funds in all three businesses lost money in the wake of the mortgage meltdown and collapse of the credit markets. If there arent any benchmarks, then you cant be discovered, says Kabiller. Gerald Beeson described it. Edens, the C.E.O., is a cerebral, intense, very private wunderkind who made his reputation at Lehman Brothersand a fortune for his firmbuying assets from the Resolution Trust Corporation. The oldest executive at Drive Shack Inc is VirgisColbert, 81, who is the Independent Director. We had strong views about what we wanted to accomplish with Fortress. Peter is a Principal and Co-Chairman of the Board of Directors of Fortress. Founded by Pete Briger in 2002, our Credit business today delivers local expertise with a global perspective in 11 office locations worldwide. Peter Briger attributes his main source of wealth to the fortress investment group. We have invested more than we have taken out, says Edens, in a rare interview. The rest of it will be paid out over the next 18 months.). Briger has been a member of the Management Committee of Fortress since 2002. Employees, even the most senior, habitually refer to Petes business. Defections to other firms are rarely tolerated. In 2002 the partners expanded into hedge funds when they brought in Briger to start the credit business and Michael Novogratz, another Goldman alum, to run macro funds (which Fortress calls its liquid markets business). Second, they sold a 15 percent stake to the Japanese bank Nomura for $888 million right before the I.P.O. Characteristically, Edens is extremely optimistic about the prospects for his private equity portfolios going forward. The 42 Best Romantic Comedies of All Time, The 25 Best Shows on Netflix to Watch Right Now, King Charles Reportedly Began Evicting Meghan and Harry the Day After, How Screwed Are Donald Trump and His Adult Children, and Other Questions You Might Have About the Staggering Fraud Lawsuit Against Them. His schoolmate Briger went to Goldman, where he traded mortgages. On October 24, more than 1,000 listeners crowded onto a conference call in which Citadel said that its two largest funds were down 35 percent due to the unprecedented de-leveraging that took place around the world, as C.F.O. Some charge much more. What the trio came up with did not look like any other hedge fund at the time. We were going at 60 miles per hour from the very first month, she says. Learn More. One of its most embarrassing and bizarre missteps was an investment in structured notes. While hedge funds all manage money, they do so in very different ways. The early days were hectic, remembers Leslee Cowen, an executive in the corporate and public securities group. Peter earns over 100 million dollars in net cash payout since 2005. Making the world smarter, happier, and richer. Payouts Up. We thought that having that public name would give us branding more quickly and do more things and potentially make more money for the business, he explains. In February 2007 Fortress Investment Group (NYSE: FIG) debuted on the public markets in an IPO. The unhappy crosscurrents that are igniting protests against capitalism and causing political dysfunction in Washington are creating the best investment opportunities that Briger and the credit team at Fortress have ever seen.