Bill Ackman net worth

Bill Ackman is an American investor,  hedge fund manager, producer, and philanthropist. Bill is the founder and  Chief Executive Officer of a hedge fund management company, Pershing Square Capital Management. He is known for shorting MBIA bonds during the 2008 financial crisis.

Bill Ackman net worth is $3.4 billion. 

Early Life

Bill Ackman’s real name is William Albert Ackman. He was born on 11 May 1966, to Lawrence Ackman and Ronnie Posner, in Chappaqua, New York. His father was the former chairman of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, a New York real estate financing firm. He completed his Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in social studies from Harvard College in 1988 and completed his Masters in Business Administration from Harvard Business School. 

Career

In 1992, Bill Ackman and David P. Berkowitz founded the Gotham Partners investment firm. Gotham made the same investments in public companies. By 1998, Gotham had $500 million in Assets under Management. After a decade of operation, the fund closed in 2002, which was caused due to an open public challenge from outside investors. 

In 2004, he founded Pershing Square Capital Management with his funds. He started funds with $54 million. In 2005, Pershing Square Capital bought significant shares in the fast-food chain Wendy’s International and successfully pressured Wendy’s to sell the Tim Hortons doughnut chain. In 2006, the company spun off Tim Hortons through an IPO and raised $670 million for its investors. After Bill sold his shares at a substantial profit, the stock price crashed, raising criticism that the sale of Wendy’s fastest-growing unit left the company in a weaker position. 

In 2007, he bought a 10% stake in Target Corporation, valued at $4.2 billion, through the purchase of derivatives and stocks. In 2010, he bought a 38% stake in Borders Group. He said he would finance a buyout of Barnes & Noble for $900 million. 

In 2012, Pershing Square Capital Management launched a closed-end fund called Pershing Square Holdings. The fund raised $3 billion in an IPO on Amsterdam’s Euronext stock market. From 2012 to 2017, PSH was generating 17.1% (approx) per annum returns for its investors. In 2015, London Clearing House Investments named Bill Ackman as one of the top 20 hedge fund managers in the world. Since the day of its launch, the fund’s lifetime gains have grown to $11.6 billion through the end of 2014. 

In 2012, Bill issued a research report that earned him headlines for his criticism of Herbalife. He called Herbalife a pyramid scheme. He disclosed that he had short-sold Herbalife’s stock, which caused a drop in stock price. In 2014, Bill spent $50 million on a public relations campaign against Herbalife. In 2015, Herbalife and the FTC reached a settlement agreement, on the day of the settlement Ackman lost $500 million.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Pershing Square Capital was very effective and it generated a $2.6 billion return in less than one month. 

In January 2022, Bill Ackman acquired a 1.1 Billion stake in Netflix. In April 2022, he sold his holdings because of disappointing subscriber growth.

He has donated more than $100 million to different foundations and trusts.

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Personal Life

Bill Ackman married Karen Ann Herskovitz. Karen is a landscape architect and Harvard graduate.  They married on 10 July 1994. The couple has three children. They divorced in 2006. 

In 2019, Bill married Neri Oxman. They have one child. 

Awards and Achievements

Bill was honored by the Challenged Athletes Foundation because he helped raise $2.3 million. In 2011, Bill Ackman was on the Philanthropy 50 list as the most generous donor. 

Earnings

Bill is one of the most popular investors on Wall Street. He has earned most of his income as a portfolio manager. He has made profits from $3 million to $300 million. His company, Pershing Square Capital Limited has assets under management of  $11 Billion. 

Bill Ackman net worth is $3.4 Billion. Bill has pledged to give half of his money to charity. His investment style is very different from others and he is known for making bold calls. He is one of the most successful and controversial hedge fund managers in the world.

He owns a Gulfstream G550 business jet.

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