The hedgefund manager - John Paulson that you are talking about also made US$ 20 Bil. in about a year shorting the CDO (subprime bonds). The US$ 1 Bil. loss is about 5% of his earnings (not wealth).
BTW the tade was made after extensive study of the valuation of the underlying and fundamentals of the housing market, mortgage business, the banking system and the US economy. It was not chartbased!
Do read the book - The greatest trade ever. The trade took over a year to setup, and when it did, it was money flowing out of the barrel. The trade was assymetrical like an option - the loss, if any was limited, the upside 20 times more.