Dave Portnoy Calls For A 90% Tax On Wall Street Fortunes Like Steve Cohen's. 'That's Not Real Work To Begin With'

2026-04-08 16:45:05

Dave Portnoy Calls For A 90% Tax On Wall Street Fortunes Like Steve Cohen’s. ‘That’s Not Real Work To Begin With’

Adrian Volenik

Fri, February 27, 2026 at 5:30 AM GMT+9 3 min read

Steve Cohen just topped Bloomberg’s annual list of the highest-paid hedge fund managers after pulling in $3.4 billion in 2025. But while the Point72 Asset Management founder was celebrating a record payday, Barstool Sports founder Dave Portnoy was calling for a dramatic response.

Portnoy said on X last week that he has a “solution” to government funding issues. “Tax Wall Street people like Steve Cohen who built their fortunes just on Wall Street 90%,” he wrote. “That’s not real work to begin with.”

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A Record Payday Sparks Backlash

According to Bloomberg, Cohen earned $3.4 billion last year from his hedge fund, putting him at No. 1 on the outlet’s annual ranking. **Appaloosa Management **founder David Tepper followed with $3.2 billion, and **Millennium Management **founder Izzy Englander came in at $3.1 billion. The top 10 managers collectively made about $22 billion.

I think I have a solution for Mandami. Tax wall street people like Steve Cohen who built their fortunes just on Wall Street 90%. That’s not real work to begin with.

Cohen’s firm posted a 17.5% return last year and now manages roughly $45.7 billion in assets. The Bloomberg ranking is based on gains from managers’ personal investments and their share of performance fees.

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The milestone is also notable given Cohen’s history. In 2013, his then-firm SAC Capital pleaded guilty to insider trading and returned outside investor money, Bloomberg reports. Cohen denied wrongdoing. Point72 reopened to outside investors in 2018 and has since grown rapidly.

Still, Portnoy wasn’t impressed by the numbers.

When one X user suggested he was drifting away from his usual pro-free market stance, Portnoy doubled down. “Free market wouldn’t have stopped GameStop or bailed out Wall Street multiple times,” he wrote. “It would have let those companies go boom. I don’t respect Wall Street. Rigged casino game.”

A Debate Over What Counts As Real Work

Portnoy’s comments came as Bloomberg highlighted just how strong last year was for the hedge fund industry. The outlet reported that nearly every major hedge fund made money last year as volatile markets pushed the industry to its best returns since 2009. The top 20 managers earned a combined $28.3 billion, with an average payday of $1.4 billion.

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As Wall Street paydays continue to climb, so will the public conversation around them. For now, Cohen holds the top spot on Bloomberg’s list, and Portnoy’s direct response ensures the debate over what qualifies as “real work” isn’t going away anytime soon.

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This article Dave Portnoy Calls For A 90% Tax On Wall Street Fortunes Like Steve Cohen’s. ‘That’s Not Real Work To Begin With’ originally appeared on Benzinga.com

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