David Alan Tepper (born September 11, 1957) is an American investor, hedge fund manager, and philanthropist. He is the founder and president of Appaloosa Management, a global hedge fund based in Short Hills, New Jersey.
He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh in 1978 with a bachelor’s degree in economics, and earned a master’s degree in industrial administration from Carnegie Mellon University in 1982. In 2013, he donated his largest gift of $67 million to Carnegie Mellon University, whose Tepper School of Business is named after him.
For the 2012 tax year, Institutional Investor’s Alpha ranked Tepper first, for earning a $2.2 billion paycheck. In 2016, Tepper earned US$1.2 billion marking him the world’s 4th highest earning hedge fund manager.
Early life and education
Tepper was raised in a Jewish family in the East End of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania in the Stanton Heights neighborhood. He was the second of three children born to Harry, who worked as an accountant, and Roberta, who was an elementary school teacher who taught at public schools in the city. He attended Peabody High School in Pittsburgh’s East Liberty neighborhood. He attended the University of Pittsburgh and helped pay his way through school by working at the Frick Fine Arts library. He graduated with honors, receiving his Bachelor of Arts degree in economics. He also dabbled in the markets during college. His first two investments, given to him by his father, were Pennsylvania Engineering Co. and Career Academies, which went bankrupt.
After graduation he entered the finance industry, working for Equibank as a credit analyst in the treasury department. In 1980, unsatisfied with this position, he enrolled at Carnegie Mellon University’s business school to pursue a master’s degree in industrial administration (MSIA).
Source:wikipedia