Harvard Bill Ackman Business Ventures and Philanthropy

Bill Ackman is a Harvard graduate and a successful businessman. He earned a Bachelor's degree in History from Harvard in 1992.

Ackman's business ventures are diverse and extensive, with a focus on investing in undervalued companies. His most notable investment was in Herbalife, a nutrition and weight management company.

As a philanthropist, Ackman has made significant contributions to various causes, including education and healthcare. He has donated to organizations such as the Harvard Business School and the New York Presbyterian Hospital.

In 1992, Ackman founded the investment firm Gotham Partners with fellow Harvard graduate David P. Berkowitz.

The firm made small investments in public companies, but it wasn't until they partnered with Leucadia National to bid for Rockefeller Center in 1995 that they gained significant attention from investors.

By 2002, Gotham had become entrenched in litigation with various external shareholders, and Ackman had already set his sights on challenging Standard & Poor's AAA rating of MBIA's bonds.

Ackman researched MBIA extensively, copying 725,000 pages of statements at a cost of over $100,000, and argued that the company was legally restricted from trading certain credit default swaps.

Bill Ackman founded Gotham Partners in 1992 with fellow Harvard graduate David P. Berkowitz. They made small investments in public companies.

In 1995, Ackman partnered with Leucadia National to bid for Rockefeller Center, but they didn't win the deal. This bid, however, generated interest in Gotham from investors, which led to a significant increase in assets under management.

By 2002, Gotham had become entrenched in litigation with external shareholders who also owned an interest in the companies in which Gotham invested. Ackman's law firm copied 725,000 pages of statements regarding MBIA to comply with a subpoena at a cost of over $100,000.

Ackman researched MBIA to challenge Standard & Poor's AAA rating of its bonds and argued that MBIA was legally restricted from trading billions of dollars of credit default swap protection.

Bill Ackman's career has been marked by a high-stakes battle for the future of Harvard. Bill Ackman and the battle for the future of Harvard is a notable example of his involvement in high-profile conflicts.

Bill Ackman has been a vocal advocate for change at Harvard, taking on the university's leadership and sparking a heated debate about its future.

Harvard Bill Ackman's investment style is all about making bold calls that nobody believes in. He's been known to take on controversy, and it's worked out for him in the past.

Ackman's most notable market plays include shorting MBIA's bonds during the financial crisis, going after Canadian Pacific Railway, and taking stakes in Target Corporation, Valeant Pharmaceuticals, and Chipotle Mexican Grill.

His first rule of activist investing is to make a bold call that nobody believes in. This approach has led him to short Herbalife's bonds, a company he views as a pyramid scheme.

Ackman's efforts to take down Herbalife were documented in the film Betting on Zero. He held a US$1 billion short against the company from 2012 to 2018.

Ackman has said that he admires short sellers like Carson Block of Muddy Waters Capital and Andrew Left of Citron Research. He's learned from their strategies and applied them to his own investments.

After a few years of weak performance, Ackman refocused his efforts by cutting staff and ending investor visits. This allowed him to hunker down and do research, which paid off in 2019 when Pershing Square returned 58.1%.

Ackman is a signer of The Giving Pledge, committing to give away at least 50% of his wealth by the end of his life to charitable causes.

He has given to various organizations, including the Center for Jewish History, where he donated $6.8 million to help retire $30 million in debt.

The Pershing Square Foundation, founded by Ackman and his wife Karen in 2006, has committed over $400 million in grants since its inception and is a major donor to Planned Parenthood.

Ackman was honored by the Challenged Athletes Foundation in 2014 for helping raise a record $2.3 million.

In 2021, he donated 26.5 million shares in Coupang, valued at $1.36 billion, to three entities, one of them his own foundation.

In his personal life, Ackman married Karen Ann Herskovitz in 1994, and they have three children together.

He later married Israeli-American designer Neri Oxman in 2019, and they had their first child together in spring 2019.

Ackman is a keen amateur tennis player and has made some notable comments about his skills, including a claim that he could play a close match against John McEnroe.

Ackman is a signer of The Giving Pledge, committing to give away at least 50% of his wealth by the end of his life to charitable causes.

He has given to various organizations, including the Center for Jewish History, where he personally contributed $6.8 million to retire $30 million in debt.

The Center for Jewish History received the largest individual gifts from Ackman, Bruce Berkowitz, and Joseph Steinberg, totaling over $30 million.

Ackman's foundation donated $1.1 million to the Innocence Project in New York City and Centurion Ministries in Princeton, New Jersey.

In 2006, Ackman and his then-wife Karen founded the Pershing Square Foundation, which has committed over $400 million in grants since its inception.

The foundation has supported innovation in economic development, education, healthcare, human rights, arts, and urban development.

In 2011, the Ackmans were recognized as one of the most generous donors on The Chronicle of Philanthropy's "Philanthropy 50" list.

Ackman has also supported Planned Parenthood through his foundation.

In 2014, the Challenged Athletes Foundation honored Ackman for his role in raising a record $2.3 million.

Ackman donated 26.5 million shares in South Korean e-commerce company Coupang, valued at $1.36 billion, to three entities, including his own foundation, in 2021.

In 2022, Ackman auctioned a lunch with himself for charity, with the proceeds going toward supporting frontline healthcare workers, police, and veterans.

Ackman is a devoted family man, having married twice, first to Karen Ann Herskovitz in 1994 and then to Israeli-American designer Neri Oxman in 2019.

His personal life has been marked by significant milestones, including the birth of their first child together in spring 2019.

Ackman is also an avid tennis player and has made headlines for his comments on playing against tennis legend John McEnroe in 2020.

In addition to his family and tennis interests, Ackman has also been known to indulge in luxury, owning a $90 million penthouse apartment in Manhattan.