John Paulson made a fortune during the housing meltdown. He is now rated the #1 Hedge Fund Manager on The Street.

Section taken from the Globe and Mail>>

Even his own staff complained that he wasn't taking money off the table. They told him to sell when he was down in his trade and they told him to sell when he was up on the trade after New Century reported its first blown quarter in early 2007. Through it all, Mr. Paulson stuck to his guns because he foresaw even bigger profits ahead - and he was proved right.

As a fund manager, I often ponder the challenge of balancing between (1) trusting yourself and your investment thesis completely even when no one else does and (2) being aware enough to know when you're being too stubborn and "not seeing the facts" or when the trade is going against you.

In Mr. Paulson's case, every new bit of data which came to light and possibly contradicted his investment thesis was always scrutinized by him and his team to see if they had "missed something." He always stuck with the trade because he felt confident in the depth of research they had invested in understanding the problem/investment opportunity.

....

Mr. Paulson used this line himself, but he also remembered another Soros comment that stuck in his mind as he executed his trade. When you see the perfect trade set-up in front of you, Mr. Soros advised to "go for the jugular." Mr. Paulson did and it paid off big-time. Some of us will never see a trade like that for the rest of our lives. When opportunity knocks, you have to answer.

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/globe-investor/investment-ideas/what-john-paulson-could-teach-us/article1367707/

and what John Paulson is doing now..

http://money.cnn.com/2009/11/18/news/companies/John_Paulson_gold_fund/