For Steve Cohen, the Death Sentence That Isn't Fatal

With criminal charges expected to be filed at any moment against multibillion-dollar hedge fund firm SAC Capital Advisors, predictions have been flying that it will be a death sentence for SAC—and the end of its founder, Steven Cohen, long seen as one of the greatest traders of his generation.

In fact, many aspects of Cohen’s professional life may continue very much as they were, even in the face of criminal charges against his company. With a personal fortune of $9 billion, according to the Bloomberg Billionaires Index, Cohen could still trade with his own money, legal experts say. He could continue to climb into a black SUV and be driven every morning to 72 Cummings Point Road in Stamford, Conn., where the SAC parking lot may still resemble an exotic car dealership and the lobby an art museum. He could keep his trading floor chilly, as he does today, and fill it with analysts and portfolio managers wearing fleece zip-neck sweaters. He could drop into Davos in the winter and tour art fairs in the spring.