George Gilder, the famous technology guru, led legions of newsletter followers into the future -- and then off a cliff when the stock market spit out the kinds of computing and telecommunications companies he had embraced.

Writing from Great Barrington with his trademark breathless enthusiasm, Gilder predicted a lot of what happened in the wired world, but then told people to pile into stocks like Global Crossing Ltd. and WorldCom Inc. The violent investment crash that ensued would have been a fatal career tragedy for most stock pickers. But today the world is awash in cash looking for new investment ideas, and Gilder is back, pitching a new hedge fund to wealthy admirers.

Gilder is no stranger to controversy, and his hedge fund ran into problems before a dime was raised. James Bender , a former partner, sued Gilder in April, claiming he was thrown overboard when plans for a modest investment fund began attracting serious money from the very rich and famous.