Apparently Some Of The Super-Wealthy Agree With Occupy Wall Street

According to a recent

, some notable members of the super-wealthy are sympathetic to the Occupy Wall Street movement (at least if you take their word for it). Hedge fund big wig (and China bear) Jim Chanos, founder of $6 billion Kynikos Associates, told Bloomberg that New Yorkers don't appreciate the impact that government bank bailouts have had on other U.S. citizens. “New York is so finance-centric that people here underappreciate the reaction of the rest of the country,” Chanos said yesterday. “People are angry, they feel the game is rigged, that they didn't get their fair shake.” Chanos is a short-seller, however, so maybe it shouldn't be too surprising that he isn't a huge fan of Wall Street. Citigroup CEO Vikram Pandit also had some soothing words for the protesters. He said that the movement was "completely understandable" and that “Trust has been broken between financial institutions and the citizens of the U.S., and that is Wall Street's job, to reach out to Main Street and rebuild that trust." More kind words came from Laurence Fink who is one of the most powerful men on Wall Street. Fink is the founder of BlackRock

, the world's largest asset manager. He told an audience at an event in Toronto that “These are not lazy people sitting around looking for something to do. We have people losing hope and they're going into the street, whether it's justified or not.” The founder of the world's largest bond manager, PIMCO's Bill Gross, was downright antagonistic towards the so-called "1%" in a tweet. He wrote, “Class warfare by the 99%? Of course, they're fighting back after 30 years of being shot at” on his Twitter feed. Joe Dear, who is the chief investment officer of the $218 billion California Public Employees' Retirement System, offered up similar sentiments on CNBC on Tuesday. He said that people were "waking up" to the fact that "the game appears to be rigged." He added that, “The financial system gets bailed out, executives' salaries stay high and the incomes of people who work for a living, paycheck to paycheck, continue to decline.” These mega-rich financiers appear to be in agreement with the third-richest man in the world, Warren Buffett, who has been calling for the financial elite to be taxed at a higher rate. According to Forbes, Buffett told Charlie Rose in a September 30 interview that class warfare is indeed going on, "and my class isn't just winning, I mean we're killing them.” One person who refuses to be cowed by the populist uproar in the country is billionaire hedge fund manager John Paulson, who's

by the protesters on Tuesday. His firm issued a statement saying, “Paulson & Co. and its employees have paid hundreds of millions in New York City and New York State taxes in recent years and have created over 100 high paying jobs in New York City since its formation. Instead of vilifying our most successful businesses, we should be supporting them and encouraging them to remain in New York City and continue to grow.” While Pauslon's sentiments are understandable, New Yorkers should take note that Paulson & Co.'s tax receipts might be a little light this year. Reports indicate that his flagship Advantage Plus fund is down a whopping 47% in 2011 and that his Recovery Fund has lost 31%. He is also expecting

, so the growth outlook at Paulson & Co. appears to be a bit shaky, to say the least. Maybe that is why he is so testy with the Occupy Wall Street protesters...