NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- Hedge fund manager John Paulson of Paulson & Co. took home $3.7 billion last year, making him the biggest earner in the industry, according to Alpha Magazine.

Alpha's annual survey of hedge fund pay found that the top five fund managers - Paulson, George Soros of Soros Fund Management, James Simons of Renaissance Technologies Corp., Philip Falcone of Harbinger Capital Partners and Kenneth Griffin of Citadel Investment Group - each made more than $1.2 billion. That's about the price JPMorgan Chase (JPM, Fortune 500) paid to acquire troubled Wall Street firm Bear Stearns (BSC, Fortune 500).

Alpha's survey took into account each manager's share of their firm's performance and management fees, as well as personal capital gains, and did not include any benefit from the sale of a firm or an initial stock offering.

Fund managers are enjoying massive paydays at a time when financial markets are in turmoil and millions of homeowners face foreclosure. As a result, hedge funds are likely to draw the ire of Congress and face more regulation in the future, the magazine said.