Eddie Lampert was once a rising star in the hedge fund world -- the next Warren Buffett, the Steve Jobs of finance. A traditional value-investor, Lampert earned himself and his investors billions by buying up large blocks of undervalued companies, often retailers. His multiyear investments in Sears Holdings (SHLDQ) and AutoNation (AN 3.92%) have formed the backbone of his portfolio for almost a decade.

Source: Wikimedia Commons.

More recently, Lampert's situation has begun to deteriorate, as the underperformance of Sears Holdings -- the company he created by merging Kmart with Sears Roebuck almost a decade ago -- has weighed on his portfolio and appears to have sent some of his investors scuttling. Nevertheless, he remains one of the most interesting and successful investors of the current generation. The following slideshow offers up five facts about the hedge fund billionaire investors may not have known.