140 Biggest and Most Famous Activist Hedge Funds

Some of the names we are going to show on this top 140 biggest and most famous activist hedge funds list are the investors that keep certain executives awake at night and at their toes.

After all, activist hedge funds get most of their earnings from investing in companies and pushing them to provide more shareholder value. These funds and their managers can start off with a statement declaring their dissatisfaction in a way a company handles its business. The suggestions could be something as benign as adding dividends, or something as hostile as firing CEOs or selling off some assets or the company itself. The more returns a hedge fund gets through its investments and campaigns, the more effective it can appear to its backers.

Here on this list, we are ranking the biggest and most famous activist hedge funds as of the third quarter of 2016, based on how huge their respective portfolios have grown after years of wheeling and dealing. We start of from No. 140, and count down to No. 1. To give you an idea on how much more valuable the top performers are, here’s a comparison point: The top-ranking hedge fund’s portfolio value is 900 times that of No. 140. But fortunes can change, and we can expect to see some changes in these rankings when the hedge funds update their filings in the next few weeks.

As of the third quarter of 2016, the 140 biggest and most valuable hedge funds have an aggregate 13F portfolio value of $397.42 billion, more than thrice the portfolio value of Warren Buffett and about 2.13% of the $18.68 trillion US gross domestic product during that quarter. If these hedge fund managers end up selling all their investments for cash (and let’s forget for a second the obviously disastrous effect on the stock market), they’ll end up holding more than 25% of the $1.5 trillion of cash in circulation.

Now that we’ve established the power these hedge funds wield, here then is the list the top five stocks the biggest and most famous activist hedge funds seem to prefer to invest in. Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN) tops this list, with 24 activist hedge funds holding $5.24 billion of company stock, followed by Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), with 22 funds owning $2.55 billion in shares. Rounding out the top five are Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC), with 20 activist investors holding $1.62 billion in the company, Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), with $2.35 billion in stock held by 19 hedge funds, and Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT), where 18 activist hedge funds have invested $3.95 billion.

All portfolio values listed on this Top 140 Biggest and Most Famous Activist Hedge Funds list are as of September 30, 2016, the end of the third quarter of 2016, unless otherwise indicated in a parenthetical note beside the value. All of these hedge funds filed at least one 13D filing since the beginning of 2016.

140. Prentice Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Michael Zimmerman

Portfolio Value: $25,752,000 (as of the third quarter of 2015)

Top Three Investments: Gaiam Inc., now known as Gaia Inc (NASDAQ:GAIA); Potbelly Corp (NASDAQ:PBPB); bebe stores, inc. (NASDAQ:BEBE)

139. Altai Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Rishi Bajaj, Toby Symonds, and Steve Tesoriere

Portfolio Value: $30,097,000

Top (and only) Investment: Servicesource International Inc (NASDAQ:SREV)

138. Roumell Asset Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Jim Roumell

Portfolio Value: $32,735,000

Top Three Investments: Rosetta Stone Inc (NYSE:RST), Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), Covisint Corp (NASDAQ:COVS)

137. Stone House Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Mark Cohen

Portfolio Value: $38,798,000

Top Three Investments: Scientific Games Corp (NASDAQ:SGMS), USA Truck, Inc.(NASDAQ:USAK), A. M. Castle & Co (OTCMKTS:CASL)

136. Central Square Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Kelly Cardwell

Portfolio Value: $56,605,000

Top Three Investments: PICO Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:PICO), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLF)

135. Hayman Advisors

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Kyle Bass

Portfolio Value: $63,340,000

Top Three Investments: NMI Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:NMIH), Shire PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:SHPG) (Put option), Eco-Stim Energy Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:ESES)

134. Emancipation Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Charles Frumberg

Portfolio Value: $64,860,000

Top Three Investments: Transcat, Inc. (NASDAQ:TRNS), I.D. Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:IDSY), Navigator Holdings Ltd (NYSE:NVGS)

133. Pleasant Lake Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Jonathan Lennon

Portfolio Value: $68,485,000

Top Three Investments: Del Taco Restaurants Inc (NASDAQ:TACO), Citizens, Inc. (NYSE:CIA) (Call option), Hemisphere Media Group Inc (NASDAQ:HMTV)

132. Voce Capital

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: J. Daniel Plants

Portfolio Value: $77,799,000

Top Three Investments: Air Methods Corp (NASDAQ:AIRM), Cutera, Inc. (NASDAQ:CUTR), Investment Technology Group (NYSE:ITG)

131. BHR Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Michael Thompson

Portfolio Value: $84,424,000

Top Three Investments: GOLAR LNG LTD. DL 1 (FRA:G2O), Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. Class A (NYSE:OSG), Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY)

130. Blue Clay Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Adam Wright and Gary Kohler

Portfolio Value: $88,666,000

Top Three Investments: Select Comfort Corp. (NASDAQ:SCSS), National Western Life Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:NWLI), SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option)

129. Engine Capital

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Arnaud Ajdler

Portfolio Value: $94,202,000 (as of March 31, 2016)

Top Three Investments: MYR Group Inc (NASDAQ:MYRG), CST Brands Inc (NYSE:CST), Stewart Information Services Corp (NYSE:STC)

128. Alden Global Capital

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Randall Smith

Portfolio Value: $98,810,000

Top Three Investments: Pier 1 Imports Inc (NYSE:PIR), Ambac Financial Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMBC), Overseas Shipholding Group, Inc. Class A (NYSE:OSG)

127. Monarch Alternative Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Michael Weinstock

Portfolio Value: $108,580,000

Top Three Investments: WCI Communities Inc (NYSE:WCIC), Gener8 Maritime Inc (NYSE:GNRT), Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN)

126. Osmium Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: John H Lewis

Portfolio Value: $121,223,000

Top Three Investments: Rosetta Stone Inc (NYSE:RST), Tucows Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:TCX), Leaf Group Ltd (NYSE:LFGR)

125. Bandera Partners

Hedge Fund Managers: Gregory Bylinsky and Jefferson Gramm

Portfolio Value: $152,262,000

Top Three Investments: Star Gas Partners, L.P. (NYSE:SGU), Popeyes Louisiana Kitchen Inc (NASDAQ:PLKI), Tandy Leather Factory, Inc. (NASDAQ:TLF)

124. Sand Grove Capital Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Simon Davies

Portfolio Value: $168,873,000

Top Three Investments: St Jude Medical Inc (NYSE:STJ), now a unit of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT); Rite Aid Corporation (NYSE:RAD); FleetMatics Group PLC (NYSE:FLTX), now a unit of Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

123. West Face Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Greg Boland

Portfolio Value: $174,761,000

Top Three Investments: PHI Inc. (NASDAQ:PHIIK), Entravision Communication (NYSE:EVC), Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT:GTE)

122. Amber Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Joseph Oughourlian and Michel Brogard

Portfolio Value: $177,477,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Gran Tierra Energy Inc. (NYSEMKT:GTE) , Enersis SA, a unit of Enel S.p.A. (BIT:ENEL)

121. TCS Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Eric Semler

Portfolio Value: $183,169,000

Top Three Investments: Angie’s List Inc (NASDAQ:ANGI), Blue Nile Inc (NASDAQ:NILE), Central European Media Enterprises Ltd. (NASDAQ:CETV)

120. Dorset Management

Hedge Fund Manager: David M. Knott

Portfolio Value: $193,720,000

Top Three Investments: Ligand Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:LGND), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE), Capitol Federal Financial, Inc. (NASDAQ:CFFN)

119. Accipiter Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Gabe Hoffman

Portfolio Value: $206,419,000

Top Three Investments: UnitedHealth Group Inc (NYSE:UNH) (Put option), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), Foresight Energy LP (NYSE:FELP)

118. Spitfire Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Julian Allen

Portfolio Value: $224,582,000

Top Three Investments: GTT Communications Inc (NYSE:GTT); Blue Bird Corp, a unit of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:BLBD); Horizon Global Corp (NYSE:HZN)

117. Tang Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Kevin C. Tang

Portfolio Value: $241,111,000

Top Three Investments: Heron Therapeutics Inc (NASDAQ:HRTX), La Jolla Pharmaceutical Company (NASDAQ:LJPC), Ignyta Inc (NASDAQ:RXDX)

116. Sageview Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Edward Gilhuly and Scott Stuart

Portfolio Value: $242,848,000

Top Three Investments: EverBank Financial Corp (NYSE:EVER); Resolute Energy Corp (NYSE:REN); Gen Probe Inc., a unit of Hologic, Inc. (NASDAQ:HOLX)

115. Oasis Management 

Hedge Fund Manager: Seth Fischer

Portfolio Value: $244,552,000

Top Three Investments: Zayo Group Holdings Inc (NYSE:ZAYO), AMC Networks Inc (NASDAQ:AMCX), HSBC Holdings plc (ADR)(NYSE:HSBC) (Bond option)

114. Knighthead Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Tom Wagner and Ara Cohen

Portfolio Value: $246,684,000 (as of March 31, 2016)

Top Three Investments: YPF SOCIEDAD ANONIMA (BMV:YPFN), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), American Capital Ltd. (NASDAQ:ACAS)

113. Dalton Investments

Hedge Fund Manager: Gifford Combs

Portfolio Value: $247,549,000

Top Three Investments: Ivanhoe Mines Ltd (TSE:IVN), Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings LLC (NYSEMKT:CQH)

112. Cannell Capital

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: J. Carlo Cannell

Portfolio Value: $251,507,000

Top Three Investments: BioTelemetry, Inc. (NASDAQ:BEAT), Ring Energy Inc (NYSEMKT:REI), Intralinks Holdings Inc (NYSE:IL)

111. Discovery Group

Hedge Fund Managers: Michael Murphy and Daniel Donoghue

Portfolio Value: $254,522,000 (as of June 30, 2016)

Top Three Investments: TubeMogul Inc (NASDAQ:TUBE), Foundation Medicine Inc (NASDAQ:FMI), Aerohive Networks Inc (NYSE:HIVE)

110. Wintergreen Advisers

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: David Winters

Portfolio Value: $256,588,000

Top Three Investments:  Reynolds American, Inc. (NYSE:RAI), Consolidated-Tomoka Land Co. (NYSEMKT:CTO), Altria Group Inc  (NYSE:MO)

109. Sagard Capital Partners Management Corp.

Hedge Fund Manager: Dan Friedberg

Portfolio Value: $272,874,000

Top Three Investments: GP Strategies Corp (NYSE:GPX), BroadSoft Inc (NASDAQ:BSFT), Brink’s Company (NYSE:BCO)

108. Engaged Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Glenn Welling

Portfolio Value: $274,655,000

Top Three Investments: Benchmark Electronics, Inc. (NYSE:BHE), TiVo Corp (NASDAQ:TIVO), SunOpta, Inc. (USA) (NASDAQ:STKL)

107. Coliseum Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Christopher Shackelton and Adam Gray

Portfolio Value: $285,094,000

Top Three Investments: The Providence Service Corporation (NASDAQ:PRSC); Blue Bird Corp, a unit of Hennessy Capital Acquisition Corp (NASDAQ:BLBD); LHC Group, Inc. (NASDAQ:LHCG)

106. Foundation Asset Management

Hedge Fund Managers: David Charney and Sky Wilber

Portfolio Value: $295,409,000

Top Three Investments: Stewart Information Services Corp (NYSE:STC), Copart, Inc.(NASDAQ:CPRT), Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB)

105. Wynnefield Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Nelson Obus

Portfolio Value: $298,913,000

Top Three Investments: Landec Corporation (NASDAQ:LNDC), Nature’s Sunshine Prod. (NASDAQ:NATR), DLH Holdings Corp. (NASDAQ:DLHC)

104. Moab Capital Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Michael M. Rothenberg

Portfolio Value: $307,741,000

Top Three Investments: Macquarie Infrastructure Corp (NYSE:MIC); Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG); LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), now owned by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

103. Stadium Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Alexander Medina Seaver

Portfolio Value: $309,129,000

Top Three Investments: Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDR), Ascena Retail Group Inc (NASDAQ:ASNA), Big 5 Sporting Goods Corporation (NASDAQ:BGFV)

102. KSA Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Daniel Khoshaba

Portfolio Value: $320,011,000

Top Three Investments: Caterpillar Inc. (NYSE:CAT) (Put option), AEP Industries Inc  (NASDAQ:AEPI), Deere & Company (NYSE:DE) (Put option)

101. Wildcat Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Leonard A. Potter

Portfolio Value: $331,796,000

Top Three Investments: Kite Pharma Inc (NASDAQ:KITE), CoStar Group Inc (NASDAQ:CSGP), Nantkwest Inc (NASDAQ:NK)

100. Steel Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Warren Lichtenstein 

Portfolio Value: $324,607,000

Top Three Investments: Handy & Harman Ltd (NASDAQ:HNH), Aerojet Rocketdyne Holdings, Inc.  (NYSE:AJRD), ModusLink Global Solutions, Inc.  (NASDAQ:MLNK)

99. Red Mountain Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Willem Mesdag

Portfolio Value: $330,597,000

Top Three Investments: Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG), Deckers Outdoor Corp (NYSE:DECK), Marlin Business Services Corp. (NASDAQ:MRLN)

98. Abdiel Capital Advisors

Hedge Fund Manager: Colin Moran

Portfolio Value: $340,040,000

Top Three Investments: Shopify Inc (NYSE:SHOP), MINDBODY Inc (NASDAQ:MB), Mimecast Ltd (NASDAQ:MIME)

97. Cerberus Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Stephen Feinberg

Portfolio Value: $342,487,000

Top Three Investments: Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY), pdvWireless Inc (NASDAQ:PDVW), BlueLinx Holdings Inc. (NYSE:BXC)

96. FrontFour Capital Group

Hedge Fund Managers: Stephen Loukas, David A. Lorber, and Zachary George

Portfolio Value: $361,844,000 (as of March 31, 2016)

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option); Ferro Corporation (NYSE:FOE); Diamond Resorts International Inc (NYSE:DRII), now owned by Apollo Global Management LLC (NYSE:APO)

95. Sandell Asset Management

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Tom Sandell

Portfolio Value: $379,726,000

Top Three Investments: Bob Evans Farms Inc (NASDAQ:BOBE); Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO); Virgin America Inc (NASDAQ:VA), now owned by Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK)

94. Great Point Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Jeffrey Jay and David Kroin

Portfolio Value: $392,073,000

Top Three Investments: Vanda Pharmaceuticals Inc. (NASDAQ:VNDA), Adamis Pharmaceuticals Corp (NASDAQ:ADMP), Synergy Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:SGYP)

93. MSD Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Glenn Fuhrman and John Phelan

Portfolio Value: $403,258,000

Top Three Investments: Asbury Automotive Group, Inc. (NYSE:ABG); Northstar Asset Management Group Inc., now a unit of Colony NorthStar Inc (NYSE:CLNS); Wesco Aircraft Holdings Inc (NYSE:WAIR)

92. Perry Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Richard Perry

Portfolio Value: $413,843,000

Top Three Investments: AT&T Inc. (NYSE:T) (Put option), Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY), AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE:AER)

91. Taconic Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Frank Brosens

Portfolio Value: $419,015,000

Top Three Investments: SINA Corp (NASDAQ:SINA) (Bond option), Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY), Vereit Inc (NYSE:VER) (Bond option)

90. Newtyn Management

Hedge Fund Managers: Noah Levy and Eugene Dozortsev

Portfolio Value: $426,604,000

Top Three Investments: Forest City Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:FCE.A), Ball Corporation (NYSE:BLL), Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR)

89. Mangrove Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Nathaniel August

Portfolio Value: $428,157,000

Top Three Investments: SunCoke Energy Inc (NYSE:SXC), Echostar Corporation (NASDAQ:SATS), Asta Funding, Inc. (NASDAQ:ASFI)

88. Sarissa Capital Management

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Alex Denner

Portfolio Value: $434,231,000

Top Three Investments: Ariad Pharmaceuticals, Inc. (NASDAQ:ARIA), Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO)

87. Bulldog Investors

Hedge Fund Managers: Phillip Goldstein, Andrew Dakos, and Steven Samuels

Portfolio Value: $443,593,000

Top Three Investments: Stewart Information Services Corp (NYSE:STC); Nuveen Global Equity Income Fund (NYSE:JGV), now merged with Nuveen NWQ Global Equity Income Fund Class I (MUTF:NQGIX); Neuberger Berman Real Estate Sec Inc Fd (NYSEMKT:NRO)

86. Okumus Fund Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Ahmet Okumus

Portfolio Value: $445,354,000

Top Three Investments: Web.com Group Inc (NASDAQ:WEB), Valeant Pharmaceuticals Intl Inc (NYSE:VRX), Endurance International Group Hldgs Inc (NASDAQ:EIGI)

85. Sessa Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: John Petry

Portfolio Value: $451,490,000

Top Three Investments: Chemours Co (NYSE:CC), SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG)

84. Nokomis Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Brett Hendrickson

Portfolio Value: $468,066,000

Top Three Investments: Vishay Precision Group Inc (NYSE:VPG), SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Xcerra Corp (NASDAQ:XCRA)

83. Prescott Group Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Phil Frohlich

Portfolio Value: $468,691,000

Top Three Investments: Air Transport Services Group Inc. (NASDAQ:ATSG), Nature’s Sunshine Prod. (NASDAQ:NATR), PharmAthene, Inc. (NYSEMKT:PIP)

82. TPG-Axon Management LP

Hedge Fund Manager: Dinakar Singh

Portfolio Value: $471,275,000

Top Three Investments: Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN), Amaya Inc. (NASDAQ:AYA), Adeptus Health Inc (NYSE:ADPT)

81. 40 North Management

Hedge Fund Managers: David S. Winter and David J. Millstone

Portfolio Value: $548,092,000

Top Three Investments: Cadence Design Systems Inc (NASDAQ:CDNS), GCP Applied Technologies Inc (NYSE:GCP), Ashland Global Holdings Inc. (NYSE:ASH)

80. Crosslink Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Seymour Sy Kaufman and Michael Stark

Portfolio Value: $554,741,000

Top Three Investments: Pandora Media Inc (NYSE:P), Carbonite Inc (NASDAQ:CARB), Alliance Data Systems Corporation (NYSE:ADS)

79. Hudson Executive Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Douglas Braunstein and James Woolery 

Portfolio Value: $555,400,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Eagle Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:EGRX), CIT Group Inc. (NYSE:CIT)

78. P2 Capital Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Claus Moller

Portfolio Value: $634,719,000

Top Three Investments: EPIQ Systems, Inc. (NASDAQ:EPIQ), now owned by OMERS Private Equity Inc and Harvest Partners; Ebix Inc (NASDAQ:EBIX), Blackhawk Network Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:HAWK)

77. EastBay Asset Management

Hedge Fund Managers: Adam Wolfberg and Steven Landry

Portfolio Value: $653,334,000

Top Three Investments: Shutterfly, Inc. (NASDAQ:SFLY), Yelp Inc (NYSE:YELP), salesforce.com, inc. (NYSE:CRM) (Call option)

76. Tontine Asset Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Jeffrey Gendell

Portfolio Value: $676,291,000

Top Three Investments: IES Holdings Inc (NASDAQ:IESC), Patrick Industries, Inc. (NASDAQ:PATK), Bank of America Corp (NYSE:BAC)

75. Raging Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: William C Martin

Portfolio Value: $725,962,000

Top Three Investments: Builders FirstSource, Inc. (NASDAQ:BLDR), Fiat Chrysler Automobiles NV (NYSE:FCAU) (Call option), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC) (Call option)

74. Lion Point

Hedge Fund Manager: Didric Cederholm

Portfolio Value: $761,017,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL)

73. Atlantic Investment Management 

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Alexander Roepers

Portfolio Value: $765,884,000

Top Three Investments: Owens-Illinois Inc (NYSE:OI), Harman International Industries Inc (NYSE:HAR), Eastman Chemical Company (NYSE:EMN)

72. RGM Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Robert G. Moses

Portfolio Value: $795,719,000  (as of March 31, 2016)

Top Three Investments: Lam Research Corporation (NASDAQ:LRCX), Cornerstone OnDemand, Inc. (NASDAQ:CSOD), Aspen Technology, Inc.  (NASDAQ:AZPN)

71. Arbiter Partners Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Paul J. Isaac

Portfolio Value: $840,898,000

Top Three Investments: iShares Trust (NYSEARCA:IEFA) (Put option), Tesla Motors Inc (NASDAQ:TSLA) (Put option), Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD) (Call option)

70. Harvest Capital Strategies

Hedge Fund Manager: Joseph A. Jolson

Portfolio Value: $849,645,000 (as of March 31, 2016)

Top Three Investments: iShares Trust (NYSEARCA:IEFA) (Put option), Green Dot Corporation (NYSE:GDOT), Servicesource International Inc (NASDAQ:SREV)

69. ESL Investments

Hedge Fund Manager: Edward Lampert

Portfolio Value: $881,848,000

Top Three Investments: AutoNation, Inc. (NYSE:AN), Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD), Lands’ End, Inc. (NASDAQ:LE)

68. Kingstown Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Michael Blitzer

Portfolio Value: $896,805,000

Top Three Investments: Hewlett Packard Enterprise Co (NYSE:HPE), Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG), New Residential Investment Corp (NYSE:NRZ)

67. Cove Street Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Jeffrey Bronchick

Portfolio Value: $927,559,000

Top Three Investments: ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT); FMC Corp (NYSE:FMC); Starz Acquisition LLC (NASDAQ:STRZA), now owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE:LGF)

66. Ashe Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: William Crowley, William Harker, and Stephen Blass

Portfolio Value: $951,358,000

Top Three Investments: Allison Transmission Holdings Inc (NYSE:ALSN); Starz Acquisition LLC (NASDAQ:STRZA), now owned by Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE:LGF); Sensata Technologies Holding N.V. (NYSE:ST)

65. Anchorage Advisors

Hedge Fund Managers: Kevin Michael Ulrich and Anthony Davis

Portfolio Value: $975,101,000

Top Three Investments: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co (NASDAQ:HMHC), Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG), Cheniere Energy Partners LP Holdings LLC (NYSEMKT:CQH)

Now that we’re more than halfway through the Top 140 Biggest and Most Famous Activist Hedge Funds, we introduce the hedge funds that hold more than a billion dollars.

64. Fairfax Financial Holdings

Hedge Fund Manager: Prem Watsa

Portfolio Value: $1,109,534,000

Top Three Investments: BlackBerry Ltd (NASDAQ:BBRY), International Business Machines Corp. (NYSE:IBM), Kennedy-Wilson Holdings Inc (NYSE:KW)

63. Broadfin Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Kevin Kolter

Portfolio Value: $1,115,804,000

Top Three Investments: Horizon Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:HZNP), Retrophin Inc (NASDAQ:RTRX), Novadaq Technologies Inc. (NASDAQ:NVDQ)

62. Marcato Capital Management

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Richard McGuire

Portfolio Value: $1,159,686,000

Top Three Investments: Sothebys (NYSE:BID), Goodyear Tire & Rubber Co (NASDAQ:GT), Buffalo Wild Wings (NASDAQ:BWLD)

61. Cyrus Capital Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Stephen C. Freidheim

Portfolio Value: $1,174,696,000

Top Three Investments: Virgin America Inc (NASDAQ:VA), now owned by Alaska Air Group, Inc. (NYSE:ALK); American Airlines Group Inc (NASDAQ:AAL); Ally Financial Inc (NYSE:ALLY)

60. H Partners Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Rehan Jaffer

Portfolio Value: $1,232,955,000

Top Three Investments: Six Flags Entertainment Corp (NYSE:SIX), Tempur Sealy International Inc (NYSE:TPX), Boyd Gaming Corporation (NYSE:BYD)

59. MSDC Management

Hedge Fund Managers: Marc Lisker, Glenn Fuhrman, and John Phelan

Portfolio Value: $1,239,734,000

Top Three Investments: Macquarie Infrastructure Corp (NYSE:MIC); Northstar Asset Management Group Inc., now a unit of Colony NorthStar Inc (NYSE:CLNS); Nexstar Media Group Inc (NASDAQ:NXST)

58. Fairholme (FAIRX)

Hedge Fund Manager: Bruce Berkowitz

Portfolio Value: $1,248,571,000

Top Three Investments: St. Joe Co (NYSE:JOE), Sears Holdings Corp (NASDAQ:SHLD), Seritage Growth Properties (NYSE:SRG)

57. MHR Fund Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Mark Rachesky

Portfolio Value: $1,414,831,000

Top Three Investments: Lions Gate Entertainment Corp. (USA) (NYSE:LGF), Navistar International Corp (NYSE:NAV), Loral Space & Communications Ltd. (NASDAQ:LORL)

56. Bridger Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Roberto Mignone

Portfolio Value: $1,484,054,000

Top Three Investments: MGM Resorts International (NYSE:MGM), Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), The Medicines Company (NASDAQ:MDCO)

55. Three Bays Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Matthew Sidman

Portfolio Value: $1,505,858,000

Top Three Investments: Churchill Downs, Inc. (NASDAQ:CHDN), VanEck Vectors ETF Trust  (Put option), iShares Trust (NYSEARCA:IEFA) (Put option)

54. Altimeter Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Brad Gerstner

Portfolio Value: $1,520,176,000

Top Three Investments: United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL), Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE), Tableau Software Inc (NYSE:DATA)

53. Glenhill Advisors

Hedge Fund Manager: Glenn J. Krevlin

Portfolio Value: $1,664,455,000

Top Three Investments: Starwood Property Trust, Inc. (NYSE:STWD), Allscripts Healthcare Solutions Inc (NASDAQ:MDRX), Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Co (NASDAQ:HMHC)

52. Basswood Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Matthew Lindenbaum

Portfolio Value: $1,846,166,000  (as of March 31, 2016)

Top Three Investments: Citizens Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CFG), Wells Fargo & Co (NYSE:WFC), Regions Financial Corp (NYSE:RF)

51. Sachem Head Capital

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Scott Ferguson

Portfolio Value: $2,025,454,000

Top Three Investments: Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), Charter Communications, Inc.  (NASDAQ:CHTR), CDK Global Inc (NASDAQ:CDK)

50. Clinton Group

Hedge Fund Manager: George Hall

Portfolio Value: $2,135,502,000

Top Three Investments: General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), Goldman Sachs Group Inc (NYSE:GS), JPMorgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

49. Deerfield Management

Hedge Fund Manager: James E. Flynn

Portfolio Value: $2,150,133,000

Top Three Investments: GW Pharmaceuticals PLC- ADR (NASDAQ:GWPH), Portola Pharmaceuticals Inc (NASDAQ:PTLA), Horizon Pharma PLC (NASDAQ:HZNP)

48. Owl Creek Asset Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Jeffrey Altman 

Portfolio Value: $2,309,681,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), HCA Holdings Inc (NYSE:HCA)

47. Fir Tree

Hedge Fund Manager: Jeffrey Tannenbaum

Portfolio Value: $2,336,738,000

Top Three Investments: CDK Global Inc (NASDAQ:CDK), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Equinix, Inc. (NASDAQ:EQIX)

46. Whitebox Advisors

Hedge Fund Manager: Andy Redleaf

Portfolio Value: $2,397,385,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Par Pacific Holdings, Inc. (NYSEMKT:PARR)

45. Huber Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Joe Huber

Portfolio Value: $2,490,772,000

Top Three Investments: KBR, Inc. (NYSE:KBR), CNO Financial Group Inc (NYSE:CNO), Tupperware Brands Corporation (NYSE:TUP)

44. QVT Financial

Hedge Fund Manager: Daniel Gold

Portfolio Value: $2,652,691,000

Top Three Investments: Axovant Sciences Ltd (NYSE:AXON), SPDR Series Trust (Put option), Microchip Technology Inc.  (NASDAQ:MCHP) (Bond option)

43. Blue Harbour Group

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Clifton Robbins

Portfolio Value: $2,702,669,000

Top Three Investments: Xilinx, Inc. (NASDAQ:XLNX), BWX Technologies Inc (NYSE:BWXT), Investors Bancorp, Inc. (NASDAQ:ISBC)

42. Gates Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Jeffrey Gates

Portfolio Value: $2,777,919,000

Top Three Investments: iShares Trust (NYSEARCA:IEFA) (Put option), Darling Ingredients Inc (NYSE:DAR), Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA:XLB) (Put option)

41. Sprott Asset Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Eric Sprott

Portfolio Value: $2,826,224,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY), Discover Financial Services (NYSE:DFS), Agnico Eagle Mines Ltd  (USA) (NYSE:AEM)

40. Caxton Associates LP

Hedge Fund Manager: Bruce Kovner

Portfolio Value: $2,957,389,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Call option), iShares Trust (NYSEARCA:IEFA) (Put option), Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA:XLB)

39. Driehaus Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Richard Driehaus 

Portfolio Value: $2,959,021,000

Top Three Investments: Gaming and Leisure Properties Inc (NASDAQ:GLPI), Alibaba Group Holding Ltd (NYSE:BABA), TiVo Corp (NASDAQ:TIVO)

38. Omega Advisors

Hedge Fund Manager: Leon Cooperman

Portfolio Value: $3,240,534,000

Top Three Investments: First Data Corp (NYSE:FDC), Navisite Inc, a unit of Charter Communications, Inc.  (NASDAQ:CHTR), AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE:AER)

37. Highland Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: James Dondero

Portfolio Value: $3,271,601,000

Top Three Investments: iShares Trust (NYSEARCA:IEFA) (Put option), SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put and Call options), Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT) (Call option)

36. International Value Advisors

Hedge Fund Manager: Charles de Vaulx

Portfolio Value: $3,383,879,000

Top Three Investments: Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (NYSE:BRK.A), News Corp (NASDAQ:NWSA), iShares Gold Trust (ETF) (NYSEARCA:IAU)

35. Luxor Capital Group

Hedge Fund Manager: Christian Leone

Portfolio Value: $3,555,969,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Call option), Materials Select Sector SPDR (NYSEARCA:XLB) (Put option), GrubHub Inc (NYSE:GRUB)

34. Horizon Asset Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Murray Stahl

Portfolio Value: $3,572,701,000

Top Three Investments: Texas Pacific Land Trust (NYSE:TPL), Howard Hughes Corp (NYSE:HHC), Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP)

33. Starboard Value LP

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Jeffrey Smith

Portfolio Value: $3,677,935,000

Top Three Investments: Perrigo Company plc (NYSE:PRGO), Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ:YHOO), Marvell Technology Group Ltd. (NASDAQ:MRVL)

32. Blue Mountain Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Andrew Feldstein and Stephen Siderow

Portfolio Value: $4,370,513,000

Top Three Investments: American Express Company (NYSE:AXP) (Call option), Symantec Corporation (NASDAQ:SYMC), Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM) (Call option)

31. Appaloosa Management LP

Hedge Fund Manager: David Tepper

Portfolio Value: $4,403,698,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Energy Transfer Partners LP (NYSE:ETP),  Google Inc., now a unit of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

30. Hillhouse Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Lei Zhang

Portfolio Value: $4,896,083,000

Top Three Investments: JD.Com Inc (ADR) (NASDAQ:JD), Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), 58.com Inc (ADR) (NYSE:WUBA)

29. Tourbillon Capital Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Jason Karp

Portfolio Value: $4,900,526,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Post Holdings Inc (NYSE:POST), DISH Network Corp (NASDAQ:DISH)

28. Greenlight Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: David Einhorn

Portfolio Value: $5,231,519,000

Top Three Investments: Apple Inc. (NASDAQ:AAPL), General Motors Company (NYSE:GM), AerCap Holdings N.V. (NYSE:AER)

27. Corvex Capital

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Keith Meister

Portfolio Value: $5,338,908,000

Top Three Investments: Yum! Brands, Inc. (NYSE:YUM), Williams Companies Inc (NYSE:WMB), Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE:SIG)

26. Pershing Square

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Bill Ackman

Portfolio Value: $5,412,894,000

Top Three Investments: Restaurant Brands International Inc (NYSE:QSR), Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ), Air Products & Chemicals, Inc. (NYSE:APD)

25. Scopia Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Matt Sirovich and Jeremy Mindich

Portfolio Value: $5,669,398,000

Top Three Investments: Spirit AeroSystems Holdings, Inc. (NYSE:SPR), United Therapeutics Corporation   (NASDAQ:UTHR), Forest City Realty Trust Inc (NYSE:FCE.A)

24. SPO Advisory Corp

Hedge Fund Manager: John H. Scully

Portfolio Value: $5,701,021,000

Top Three Investments: Pioneer Natural Resources (NYSE:PXD), Charter Communications, Inc.  (NASDAQ:CHTR), Liberty Global plc (NASDAQ:LBTYA)

23. JANA Partners

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Barry Rosenstein

Portfolio Value: $5,710,408,000

Top Three Investments: Conagra Brands Inc (NYSE:CAG), SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Liberty Broadband Corp  (NASDAQ:LBRDA)

22. Eminence Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Ricky Sandler

Portfolio Value: $5,987,767,000

Top Three Investments: Autodesk, Inc. (NASDAQ:ADSK), Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM), ARRIS International plc (NASDAQ:ARRS)

21. Magnetar Capital

Hedge Fund Managers: Alec Litowitz and Ross Laser

Portfolio Value: $6,456,196,000

Top Three Investments: iShares Trust (NYSEARCA:IEFA) (Put option); SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option); St Jude Medical Inc (NYSE:STJ), now a unit of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT)

20. PAR Capital Management

Hedge Fund Managers: Paul Reeder and Edward Shapiro

Portfolio Value: $6,924,907,000

Top Three Investments: United Continental Holdings Inc (NYSE:UAL), Expedia Inc (NASDAQ:EXPE), Delta Air Lines, Inc. (NYSE:DAL)

19. Levin Capital Strategies

Hedge Fund Manager: John A. Levin

Portfolio Value: $6,799,317,000

Top Three Investments: Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF), Citigroup Inc (NYSE:C), Pfizer Inc. (NYSE:PFE)

18. Baupost Group

Hedge Fund Manager: Seth Klarman

Portfolio Value: $7,036,211,000

Top Three Investments: Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG), ViaSat, Inc. (NASDAQ:VSAT), Synchrony Financial (NYSE:SYF)

17. Oaktree Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Howard Marks

Portfolio Value: $7,708,914,000

Top Three Investments: AdvancePierre Foods Holdings Inc (NYSE:APFH), Sorl Auto Parts, Inc. (NASDAQ:SORL) (Call option), Tribune Media Co (NYSE:TRCO)

16. Carlson Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Clint Carlson

Portfolio Value: $7,894,755,000

Top Three Investments: LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), now owned by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT); St Jude Medical Inc (NYSE:STJ), now a unit of Abbott Laboratories (NYSE:ABT); Bunge Ltd (NYSE:BG)

15. OrbiMed Advisors

Hedge Fund Manager: Samuel Isaly

Portfolio Value: $8,780,843,000

Top Three Investments: Biogen Inc (NASDAQ:BIIB), Boston Scientific Corporation (NYSE:BSX), Amgen, Inc. (NASDAQ:AMGN)

14. Paulson & Co.

Hedge Fund Manager: John Paulson

Portfolio Value: $9,226,595,000

Top Three Investments: Shire PLC (ADR) (NASDAQ:SHPG), Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN), Mylan N.V. (NASDAQ:MYL)

13. Trian Partners

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Nelson Peltz

Portfolio Value: $10,384,557,000

Top Three Investments: General Electric Company (NYSE:GE), SYSCO Corporation (NYSE:SYY), Mondelez International Inc (NASDAQ:MDLZ)

12. Pentwater Capital Management

Hedge Fund Manager: Matthew Halbower

Portfolio Value: $10,781,167,000

Top Three Investments: SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSEARCA:SPY) (Put option), Procter & Gamble Co (NYSE:PG) (common stock and Put option), LinkedIn Corp (NYSE:LNKD), now owned by Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)

11. Baker Bros. Advisors

Hedge Fund Managers: Julian Baker and Felix Baker

Portfolio Value: $11,019,928,000

Top Three Investments: Seattle Genetics, Inc. (NASDAQ:SGEN), Incyte Corporation (NASDAQ:INCY), AbbVie Inc (NYSE:ABBV)

10. Select Equity Group

Hedge Fund Manager: Robert Joseph Caruso

Portfolio Value: $11,577,679,000

Top Three Investments: DENTSPLY SIRONA Inc (NASDAQ:XRAY), Signet Jewelers Ltd. (NYSE:SIG), Mohawk Industries, Inc. (NYSE:MHK)

9. ValueAct Capital

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Jeffrey Ubben

Portfolio Value: $11,491,045,000

Top Three Investments: Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT), Baker Hughes Incorporated (NYSE:BHI), Morgan Stanley (NYSE:MS)

8. Third Point

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Dan Loeb

Portfolio Value: $11,502,254,000

Top Three Investments: Baxter International Inc  (NYSE:BAX), Dow Chemical Co  (NYSE:DOW), Allergan plc (NYSE:AGN)

7. First Pacific Advisors LLC

Hedge Fund Managers: Robert Rodriguez and Steven Romick

Portfolio Value: $12,053,677,000

Top Three Investments: Oracle Corporation (NYSE:ORCL), American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG), United Technologies Corporation (NYSE:UTX)

6. Elliott Management

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Paul Singer

Portfolio Value: $12,249,909,000

Top Three Investments: PowerShares QQQ Trust Series 1 (ETF) (NASDAQ:QQQ), Hess Corp. (NYSE:HES), iShares Trust (NYSEARCA:IEFA) (Put option)

5. Glenview Capital

Hedge Fund Manager: Larry Robbins

Portfolio Value: $13,981,715,000

Top Three Investments: Humana Inc (NYSE:HUM), HCA Holdings Inc (NYSE:HCA), CIGNA Corporation (NYSE:CI)

4. GAMCO Investors

Hedge Fund Manager: Mario Gabelli

Portfolio Value: $15,373,495,000

Top Three Investments: Bank of New York Mellon Corp (NYSE:BK), Time Warner Inc (NYSE:TWX), Ryman Hospitality Properties, Inc. (REIT) (NYSE:RHP)

3. Soroban Capital Partners

Hedge Fund Manager: Eric W. Mandelblatt

Portfolio Value: $16,490,628,000

Top Three Investments: Anheuser Busch Inbev SA NV (ADR) (NYSE:BUD) (common stock and Call option), Charter Communications, Inc.  (NASDAQ:CHTR), Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE:VZ)

2. Icahn Capital

Activist Hedge Fund Manager: Carl Icahn

Portfolio Value: $19,804,653,000

Top Three Investments: Icahn Enterprises LP (NASDAQ:IEP), American International Group Inc (NYSE:AIG), Cheniere Energy, Inc. (NYSEMKT:LNG)

1. Viking Global

Hedge Fund Manager: Andreas Halvorsen

Portfolio Value: $23,183,653,000

Top Three Investments: Amazon.com, Inc.  (NASDAQ:AMZN), Facebook Inc (NASDAQ:FB), Google Inc., now a unit of Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOGL)

And that concludes our Top 140 Biggest and Most Famous Activist Hedge Funds list. We should once again note that this list used the 13F value of hedge funds that filed at least one 13D filing since the beginning of 2016. Some hedge funds are more activist than others. Most activist hedge funds in this list don’t have more than a couple of activist campaigns at the moment. We will probably work on another list of most active activist hedge funds in the next couple of months.

Disclosure: none