William Albert Ackman is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, a concentrated activist hedge fund managing approximately $18 billion. Ackman is one of the most publicly visible fund managers in the world, known for both spectacular wins and high-profile losses.
Ackman graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College and Harvard Business School. He co-founded Gotham Partners in 1992 before launching Pershing Square in 2004. His most famous trade was a $2.6 billion profit from credit default swaps at the onset of COVID-19 in March 2020, which he turned around in just 18 days from a $27 million initial outlay.
However, Ackman's career also includes significant setbacks, most notably a $4 billion loss on his Valeant Pharmaceuticals investment and a protracted short bet against Herbalife. Despite the volatility, Pershing Square's publicly traded vehicle has delivered strong long-term returns. Ackman has become increasingly prominent on social media, amassing millions of followers on X (Twitter).
SEC 13F filings, Pershing Square Holdings (PSH.AS) public filings, Institutional Investor
| Year | 2023 | 2024 | 2025 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Return | +26% | +12% | +14% |