#8. Citadel Buys 18% of E*Trade for $2.5 Billion
Hedge-fund mad scientist Ken Griffin, founder of Citadel Investment Group, does some more bottom fishing, reeling in a chunk of E*Trade, but more importantly, hooking its $3 billion in CDO and second-lien securities for what's hoped to be a rock-bottom 27 cents on the dollar. It's getting to be a habit with Citadel, which has picked through the wreckage of exploding hedge funds to find the working parts and made them print money.