Trader Monthly’s latest annual instalment of trader pay porn shows that some London hedge funders (particularly those at GLG) did very well for themselves in 2007.

This side of the Atlantic, the biggest of the big boys were:

• Chris Hohn, The Children’s Investment Fund. Income estimated at $800m-$900m.

• Noam Gottesman, GLG Partners. Income estimated at $700m-$800m.

• Alan Howard, Brevan Howard Asset Management. Income estimated at $700m-$800m.

• Pierre Lagrange, GLG Partners. Income estimated at $700m-$800m.

• Greg Coffey, GLG Partners. Income estimated at $500m-$600m.

• Louis Bacon, Moore Capital Management. Income estimated at $400m-$500m.

But before anyone gets too excited, it’s worth bearing in mind that payouts of this magnitude are only marginally more likely than winning the EuroMillions lottery.

Claude Schwab, of hedge fund-focused headhunter Schwab Enterprise, says annual pay above $100m is “incredibly rare”, a “complete one-off”, and reserved only for a few “general managers” of the most successful funds.

Last year, most hedge fund traders and portfolio managers took home seven and eight-figure packages, says Schwab. After the worst start to the year on record for hedge funds (according to the Financial Times), pay for 2008 is likely to be a lot lower.

In possible anticipation of blowouts, Peter Elliott, of London hedge fund recruiter Emerson Chase, says employees of funds with less than $250m under management are already proving eager to move into larger funds and funds of funds.