Red Sox Owner's Fund Gets Bloodied

Updated from May 7

Tom Wolfe calls them the new masters of the universe. The media goggle over their billion-dollar fees. For the top tier of hedge fund managers, the sky looks like the limit.

Yet, away from the headlines, one of the industry's legendary pioneers is quietly sinking toward crisis as half of his clients have lost money over the long haul.

How big is John W. Henry? He was a hedge fund king before anyone had heard of such a thing. He's been speculating on the Street with billions since the early 1980s -- when most of today's big shots were still in junior high, and an "alternative investment firm" was one that allowed chinos on Fridays. ...