Investor Guru David Tepper, founder of Appaloosa Management, was listed by Forbes recently as the highest-earning among the top 40 hedge fund managers and traders. Tepper personally made $2.2 billion in 2012, beating out the other top 10 Gurus Carl Icahn, Steven Cohen, James Simmons, George Soros, Ken Griffin, Ray Dalio, David Shaw, Leon Cooperman and Daniel Loeb. Tepper’s hedge fund, Appaloosa Management, also had a high with net returns of almost 30% last year. Appaloosa has an average annual return of 23.3% over five years, and 29.2% since inception in 1993.

The question on everyone’s mind is: How did he do it? How did David Tepper make so much money last year? The answer, in part: Tepper bet heavily on technology giant Apple Inc. (AAPL) increasing his stake as follows:

Apple Inc. (AAPL)

As of the quarter ending Dec. 31, 2012, David Tepper owns 912,661 shares of AAPL, valued as $486 million, and accounts for 10.5% of his equity portfolio. Tepper added his positions in the Sept. 30, 2012 quarter by 0.94%, again in the Dec. 31, 2012 quarter by 75.11%.

Currently Appaloosa Management’s top public equity holding, Apple Inc. has a market cap of $428.8 billion; its shares traded around $456.4 with a P/E ratio of 10.41 and P/S ratio of 2.6. The dividend yield of Apple Inc. stocks is 1.8%. Apple Inc. had an annual average earnings growth of 81.6% over the past 10 years.

GuruFocus rated Apple Inc. the business predictability rank of 4.5-star.

His holding history:



Commenting on how he founded Appaloosa Management, according to a Bloomberg interview, Guru Tepper said: "After you work on Wall Street, it's a choice, would you rather work at McDonald's or on the sell side? I would choose McDonald's. Over the sell side." As a young boy, Tepper became interested in the stock market watching his father trade stocks in his hometown of Pittsburgh.

With a track record of robust philanthropy, Tepper donated a record $55 million to his alma mater Carnegie Mellon University in 2004, the largest donation in its 104-year history.

Tepper’s portfolio lists 57 stocks with a total value of $4.6 billion, and a quarter-over-quarter turnover of 22%.

Tepper’s other top buys, sells and holdings:



Read more about David Tepper’s Top 5 Buys.

Track Gurus’ Stock Purchases Daily – Real Time Guru Picks

GuruFocus "Real Time Picks" reports the stock purchases and sales that Gurus have made within the prior 2 weeks. The report time lag can be as short as 3 days after the date of the transaction. This is just one of the features provided with GuruFocus Premium Membership.

Click Here to Try It Free!

More Gurufocus Links

Latest Guru Picks	Value Strategies
Warren Buffett Portfolio	Ben Graham Net-Net
Real Time Picks	Buffett-Munger Screener
Aggregated Portfolio	Undervalued Predictable
ETFs, Options	Low P/S Companies
Insider Trends	10-Year Financials
52-Week Lows	Interactive Charts
Model Portfolios	DCF Calculator
RSS Feed	Monthly Newsletters
The All-In-One Screener	Portfolio Tracking Tool