John Burbank

John Burbank founded Passport Capital, a San Francisco-based global investment firm in 2000. Passport Capital specializes in the following areas: Agriculture, Basic Materials,Consumer, Energy, Financial Services, Healthcare, Capital Markets, Internet / Technology, India and Middle East & North Africa. John Burbank is Passport Capital's founding member and CIO. He is well-known for having calculated the subprime crisis. However, it ultimately went wrong. John Burbank's flagship fund returned an impressive 219 percent in 2007, owing largely in part to bets made against the housing market in 2005. He became very skeptical about U.S. equities so he looked to budding markets and commodities. Within a few months, his funds lost over 50 percent.

In 2009, John Burbank trailed the S&P 500, but only just barely. Then, in 2010, Passport Capital returned 18.3 percent, cleverly outpacing the market. His best bets are Vivus, 110 percent; Marathon Petroleum Corp., 27 percent; Cytec Industries, 26 percent.