Bill Ackman

William A. Ackman was born May 11, 1966, in Chappaqua, New York, and attended Harvard College followed by Harvard Business School, where he began investing with classmates and soon after co‑founded Gotham Partners in 1992 with David P. Berkowitz. Gotham Partners initially grew through value investments and real estate-related deals, including an early high‑profile bid on Rockefeller Center, but later faced legal disputes and wound down in the early 2000s. In 2004 Ackman launched Pershing Square Capital Management with seed capital that included personal funds and external backers; the firm became known for concentrated, high‑conviction positions and a public, activist approach to unlocking shareholder value. Over the next two decades Pershing Square amassed billions in assets under management and participated in many high‑visibility campaigns — both constructive engagements with management and aggressive public activist battles. Ackman’s activist and trading activities have ranged from long, collaborative engagements to public short campaigns; notable early prescient actions included his short/credit‑default‑swap position against MBIA prior to the 2008 financial crisis and later activist or investment involvements with companies such as J.C. Penney, Valeant/Allergan (via coordination with Valeant), Target, and others. His style—making bold, controversial public calls and filing 13D disclosures when taking activist stakes—made him a polarizing but influential figure on Wall Street. Outside investing, Ackman has engaged in philanthropy and public commentary on education and public policy, and in recent years his public profile included vocal positions on social and political issues; he has also at times said he would reduce or alter his activist approach (reports note he “swore off” the activist approach publicly in 2022, per profile coverage).