Hedge Fund News: Ken Griffin, Daniel Loeb, Carl Icahn

King Ken: Recovered Citadel Chief Takes The Hedge Fund Throne (CNBC)
In April, a hedge fund firm in Chicago snagged arguably the most sought after economic mind in the world: Ben Bernanke. “He has extraordinary knowledge of the global economy,” Citadel founder and CEO Ken Griffin crowed in a statement announcing that his investment shop had hired the former Federal Reserve chairman as a senior advisor. “His insights on monetary policy and the capital markets will be extremely valuable to our team and to our investors.”

Third Point Sells Stakes in Alibaba, Hertz (The Wall Street Journal)
Daniel Loeb’s Third Point LLC has sold off its stake in Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba Group Holding Ltd., according to a securities filing Friday. In addition to selling its 10 million shares in Alibaba, the New York hedge fund also exited its stake in car-rental company Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Citigroup Inc. Third Point had opened the 4.25-million-share Hertz stake, valued at nearly $106 million as of March 31, and 5-million share Citigroup stake, valued at $270.6 million, in the previous quarter.

Carl Icahn Invests $100 Million In Ride-Sharing Service Lyft (Reuters)
Ride-sharing company Lyft Inc said it raised $150 million, led by a $100 million investment from activist investor Carl Icahn‘s Icahn Enterprises LP. Icahn joins a long list of backers for the three-year old startup, including Andreessen Horowitz, New York-based technology hedge-fund Coatue Management, Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, and hedge fund Third Point Management. One of Icahn’s managing directors, Jonathan Christodoro, will join Lyft’s board, Lyft said in a statement on Friday.

Druckenmiller Adds to Energy, Cuts Consumer Stocks in Quarter (Bloomberg)
Stan Druckenmiller bought shares of energy companies and sold retail stocks in the first quarter as the billionaire anticipates oil prices will rise by next year. The former chief strategist for George Soros purchased 561,600 shares of natural gas and crude oil producer EOG Resources Inc. valued at $51.5 million at the end of March, according to a regulatory filing. Druckenmiller’s Duquesne Family Office also bought a stake in Pioneer Natural Resources Co.