Early Life and Education
William Albert Ackman was born in Chappaqua, New York, on May 11, 1966. He is of Ashkenazi Jewish descent. His father, Lawrence David Ackman, was the former chairman of Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group. Ackman graduated from Horace Greeley High School in 1985. He received a Bachelor of Arts degree magna cum laude in social studies from Harvard College in 1988. In 1992, he earned a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Business School.
Rise to Success
Ackman co-founded Gotham Partners in 1992, and later, in 2004, he founded Pershing Square Capital Management. The hedge fund is based in New York City and specializes in activist investments. Pershing Square focuses on a concentrated portfolio of high-quality, large-capitalization North American companies. Ackman's investment strategy often involves taking significant positions in companies and advocating for changes to increase shareholder value. Pershing Square Holdings (PSH) was established in 2012 and is a Guernsey-domiciled, closed-ended investment holding company that tracks the performance of Pershing Square Capital Management. PSH's investment objective is to maximize its long-term compound annual rate of growth.
Key Business Strategies
Pershing Square employs a focused approach, concentrating investments in a small number of high-conviction positions. The fund is known for its activist investment style, which involves pushing for changes in management, operations, or governance to unlock value. Some of Ackman's notable investments include Chipotle, Uber, and Amazon. The firm's portfolio is typically allocated to 8-12 core holdings, primarily liquid, listed large-cap North American companies, with a focus on high-quality businesses with predictable cash flow.
Philanthropy
Ackman is a signatory of The Giving Pledge, committing to donate at least half of his wealth to charitable causes. In 2006, Ackman and his then-wife Karen founded the Pershing Square Foundation to fund organizations focused on economic development, education, healthcare, human rights, arts, and urban development. The foundation has committed more than $750 million in grants to over 100 organizations.
