Charity work is so rewarding

Everybody wants to be a hedge fund manager. Especially those in the public sector. Richard Lang, boss of the government owned company CDC, earned GBP970,000 in 2007. Interestingly, unlike most hedge funds, the direct aim of CDC is to help improve the finances of the worlds poorest through direct investment.Owned by the UK government Department for International Development (DfID) and in charge of GBP2.7 billion, CDC invests in projects such as a Nigerian shopping mall and a Chinese egg producer with impressive results. So much so that the board of CFC deemed it fit to pay Lang as if he were a

fund of funds

manager resulting in "extraordinary levels of pay in a small publicly owned organization charged with fighting poverty", according to a

Westminster spending watchdog

.However, the only pockets being lined were his. According to the report, there is no evidence that the CDC projects alleviate poverty. Yet CDC assets increased by nearly 300% since 2004. However, justice has been served, as Lang saw his pay package reduced as CDC assets fell in the downturn. In 2008, he earned a measly GBP572,000, with a GBP252,000 performance related bonus.