The top 40 highest-earning hedge fund managers took home a combined $13.2bn, according to a Forbes magazine survey. The top 10 hedge fund managers made more than $200m each, while the lowest earning managers on the list made $40m each.

Topping the list was Raymond Dalio, who produced $13.8bn for clients in 2011 while making returns in the 20 percent range. Dalio oversees the world's biggest hedge fund firm, Bridgewater Associates, with $120bn in assets. His earnings amounted to $3bn.

James Simons of Renaissance Technologies was ranked behind Dalio with $2.1bn in earnings for the year.

The highest-earning European hedge fund manager in 2011 was Alan Howard, who recently moved to Geneva from London. A co-founder of Brevan Howard Asset Management, Howard's $26bn master fund led the way for the firm in 2011, returning 12.14 percent net of fees. He earned $400m last year.