NEW YORK (CNN/Money) - Hedge fund managers are using their fortunes to become a major force in the art world, and the leader in that trend is Steven A. Cohen, who has paid top dollar for a collection that includes works by artists from Jackson Pollock, to Edouard Manet to Andy Warhol, according to a published report.

The New York Times reported that Cohen, 48, who runs SAC Capital, has spent more than $300 million building his art collection. The paper said that Cohen's purchases, including a Pollock for $52 million and a Warhol for $25 million, has dealers and collectors buzzing about the prices paid.

"Psychologically, his purchases inform a whole subcategory of collectors that there is significant, substantial money being spent," Manhattan art dealer Perry Rubenstein told the Times.

The paper said that Cohen refused to comment on his purchases for the report. It said he earned $350 million in 2003 and more last year. Forbes magazine estimates his net worth at $2 billion.

The earnings and art purchases are a demonstration of the wealth being generated by hedge fund managers today, the paper reported.

The paper said other hedge fund managers becoming major art investors include Kenneth Griffin, the founder of the $8 billion Citadel Investment Group in Chicago, who the paper reported recently bought a Cézanne still life that sold for $60 million at a 1999 auction; Eric Mindich, 36, who runs Eton Park Capital, and Daniel C. Benton of Andor Capital.

But Cohen has joined a relatively small circle of Wall Street art investors who are willing to spend more than $10 million on a single piece of art, the paper said. The paper reported that other members of the exclusive club include cosmetics heir Ronald S. Lauder; Stephen A. Wynn, the Las Vegas hotel and casino owner; S. I. Newhouse Jr., the publisher; and the financiers Leon D. Black and Henry R. Kravis.

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