Paul Singer (businessman)

Paul Singer
Singer at the World Economic Forum Annual Meeting in 2013
Born	Paul Elliott Singer (1944-08-22) August 22, 1944 (age 72)
Residence	New York City
Nationality	United States
Alma mater	University of Rochester (B.S.) Harvard Law School (J.D.)
Occupation	Founder of Elliott Management
Net worth	US$ 2.2 billion (August 2016)
Children	Andrew and Gordon

Paul Elliott Singer (born August 22, 1944) is an American hedge fund manager, activist investor, and philanthropist. His hedge fund, Elliott Management Corporation (EMC)—specializes in distressed debt acquisitions. Singer is also the founder and CEO of NML Capital Limited, a Cayman Islands-based offshore unit of Elliott Management Corporation. In 2016, Forbes rated Singer's net worth as $2.2 billion.

Singer's philanthropic activities include financial support for LGBTQ rights,—since his son came out as gay in 1998. His political activities include funding the Manhattan Institute for Policy Research and he has written against raising taxes for the 1% and aspects of the Dodd-Frank Act. Singer is active in Republican Party politics and collectively, Singer and others affiliated with Elliott Management are "the top source of contributions" to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.

Fortune magazine described him as one of the "smartest and toughest money managers" in the hedge fund industry. Elliott was termed by The Independent as "a pioneer in the business of buying up sovereign bonds on the cheap, and then going after countries for unpaid debts", and in 1996, Singer began using the strategy of purchasing sovereign debt from nations in or near default—such as Argentina,Peru—through his NML Capital Limited and Congo-Brazzaville through Kensington International Inc. Singer’s business model of purchasing distressed debt from companies and sovereign states and pursuing full payment through the courts has led to criticism, while Singer and EMC defend their model as "a fight against charlatans who refuse to play by the market’s rules.”