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Who

The Doogie Howser of Wall Street, Mindich founded the hedge fund Eton Park Capital Management in 2004 after leaving Goldman Sachs.

Backstory

Mindich graduated summa cum laude from Harvard in 1988 and set off on the fast track at Goldman Sachs before the ink was dry on his diploma. Joining the firm's hallowed risk arbitrage business—the group that Bob Rubin led through much of the 1980s—Mindich found himself in charge of the group by 25; in 1994, at the tender age of 27, he became the youngest Goldman Sachs partner in the firm's history, an occasion marked with a cover story in the Wall Street Journal. ("He's 27, single, and rich," the article started.) Mindich didn't stick around long to enjoy the spoils, though. In late 2003, he announced his "retirement" from Goldman and founded Eton Park Capital Management in early 2004 with $3 billion in capital, much of it from his former employer and some of the firm's most prominent alums, like Rubin. Eton Park now has $12 billion under management and operates out of offices in New York, London and Hong Kong.

Of note

Mindich opened the doors to his fund in 2004 to much buzz: The $3 billion he started off with made Eton Park the largest start-up hedge fund in history, notwithstanding fairly onerous investment requirements. (Investors had to agree to tie up a minimum of $5 million for four-and-a-half years, or face a hefty—6 percent—early withdrawal penalty.) There were some early signs that the firm was having a difficult time: One of Mindich's partners, Scott Prince, who had joined Eton Park after serving as co-head of equities trading at Goldman, departed in December 2006; another key employee, Stu Hendel, who was co-head of U.S. prime brokerage at Morgan Stanley before joining Mindich, left as well, and returned to Morgan.

The defections had some observers wondering if Mindich was living up to the hype, but bearish bets on the credit markets during the summer of 2007 paid off nicely, as his Eton Park Master Fund reported a 35 percent return on the year. He's also been in expansion mode as of late: In 2007, he acquired the portfolio of R6 Capital Management, a debt-oriented fund, and hired its founder, Ralph Rosenberg, a former Goldman Sachs trader himself. In addition to a new focus on the distressed market, Mindich is also expanding abroad. In 2007, he raised half a billion dollars for a private equity fund that will invest in developing countries like Brazil and Mexico.

Board game

Mindich is on the board of the Lincoln Center Theater, the Whitney Museum, and Horace Mann. He's also a trustee of Mount Sinai, where he sits alongside his former mentor Bob Rubin as well as Leon Black, Henry Kravis, and Carl Icahn, among others.

Keeping score

Trader Monthly estimated that Mindich took home $200-250 million in 2007.

Personal

Eric's wife is Stacey Okun Mindich, a former senior editor at Town & Country. The couple has three sons and live at 730 Park, which is also home to Mike Wallace, Edward Minskoff, and William Lauder. The Mindichs also have a summer home in Water Mill.

Family ties

Mindich's father, Mel, develops golf courses. He built Long Island golf course the Links at Shirley.