Appaloosa Lp

Appaloosa Lp

David Tepper launched Appaloosa in 1993 after leaving Goldman Sachs, where he had built a reputation as a leading distressed-debt trader. The firm's name derives from the Appaloosa horse breed, reflecting Tepper's equestrian interests. Appaloosa began as a hedge fund but transitioned to a family-office structure in 2019 when Tepper returned outside capital and converted the firm into a single-family office managing his own wealth (per Bloomberg, 2019). Appaloosa's investment strategy centers on distressed debt, private credit, special situations, and opportunistic market bets — a legacy of Tepper's skill in analyzing bankrupt energy and retail companies. The firm takes concentrated positions, often holding stakes in multiple layers of a company's capital structure. Known holdings have included Energy Future Holdings, Hess, and a notable bet on Hertz during its 2020 bankruptcy. Geographically the firm focuses primarily on North American markets but has also deployed capital in Europe. The firm operates from its headquarters in Short Hills, New Jersey, with additional offices in New York and Miami. Team size is not publicly disclosed but is understood to be lean relative to AUM. David Tepper also owns the NFL's Carolina Panthers and MLS's Charlotte FC, though those are personal investments separate from Appaloosa's portfolio. The David Tepper Charitable Foundation, funded primarily from Appaloosa proceeds, supports education and healthcare initiatives. Appaloosa's structural differentiator is its concentrated, single-manager approach — Tepper remains the sole decision-maker, a posture few firms of this scale maintain. The firm has no formal CIO or investment committee; Tepper personally drives all major allocation calls, giving Appaloosa a speed and conviction that larger institutional firms often lack.