To most, the Chicago money manager is the Guy Who Lost $8 Billion Last Year. But the workers at his favorite ice-cream spot used to call him by another name:

"He occasionally dispatches his driver on a 200-mile round trip to fetch milkshakes from LeDuc's Frozen Custard in Wales, Wis., near where Mr. Griffin grew up. The folks at LeDuc's refer to the financier as "the man of a thousand shakes," based on a birthday order in 2004 that was so big, it got shipped to Chicago in a truck."

Of course, since the Crash, he hasn't come around much:

Mr. Griffin's driver "hasn't been around in maybe six months or a year," says Jim Shackton, owner of LeDuc's, whose staff in past years came to recognize him when he'd pull up to the little pitched-roof custard shop in a silver Mercedes sedan. ("Nice car," Mr. Shackton says.)

See, everyone's been forced to cut back a little.

A Hedge-Fund King Comes Under Siege [WSJ]
Related: Hedgies Unhinged