Key Takeaways
- • Pershing Square Capital Management, founded and run by Bill Ackman, manages roughly $20 billion in assets according to the primary Forbes profile.
- • Ackman created Pershing Square in 2004 and is known for his short of bond insurer MBIA and his rescue of mall operator General Growth Properties.
- • The firm's stock portfolio is concentrated in about 10 companies, including Chipotle, Uber and Amazon.
- • Forbes profile lists Ackman's source of wealth as hedge funds and self-made, with three children and an MBA from Harvard Business School.
- • The Pershing Square Foundation has committed about $500 million to causes including the Innocence Project, Human Rights Watch and Teach For America.
Summary
Forbes profiles Bill Ackman, founder and chief executive of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund with approximately $20 billion in assets under management. Ackman founded the firm in 2004 and rose to prominence through his short position against bond insurer MBIA and his rescue of mall operator General Growth Properties, according to the profile.
The firm's equity portfolio is concentrated in roughly 10 companies, including Chipotle, Uber and Amazon. Forbes lists Ackman's source of wealth as hedge funds and classifies him as self-made, assigning him a self-made score of 7 and a philanthropy score of 2 on its scale. He is based in New York, is a U.S. citizen, is married and has three children. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree from Harvard University.
The profile notes Ackman's outspoken public profile, with more than 2 million followers on X. It also records that he endorsed Donald Trump in 2024 after decades of supporting Democrats, and that he publicly pressed Harvard to oust president Claudine Gay amid plagiarism and antisemitism accusations until she resigned in January 2024.
Philanthropically, the Pershing Square Foundation has committed about $500 million to causes including the Innocence Project, Human Rights Watch and Teach For America.
The firm's equity portfolio is concentrated in roughly 10 companies, including Chipotle, Uber and Amazon. Forbes lists Ackman's source of wealth as hedge funds and classifies him as self-made, assigning him a self-made score of 7 and a philanthropy score of 2 on its scale. He is based in New York, is a U.S. citizen, is married and has three children. He holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and a bachelor's degree from Harvard University.
The profile notes Ackman's outspoken public profile, with more than 2 million followers on X. It also records that he endorsed Donald Trump in 2024 after decades of supporting Democrats, and that he publicly pressed Harvard to oust president Claudine Gay amid plagiarism and antisemitism accusations until she resigned in January 2024.
Philanthropically, the Pershing Square Foundation has committed about $500 million to causes including the Innocence Project, Human Rights Watch and Teach For America.
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