William Ackman is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management. See portfolio, sector focus and contact routes.
William Ackman is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, an activist hedge fund he established in New York City in 2004 after co-founding Gotham Partners in 1992. His investment thesis centers on activist strategies in publicly traded companies, where he acquires significant stakes to pressure management for operational or strategic change rather than targeting specific stages or private sectors. Ackman typically leads investments by taking large, influential positions, as evidenced by his confrontational approach and history of hedging portfolios to capitalize on market downturns. Notable portfolio companies include Uber, Restaurant Brands International (which owns Wendy’s and Burger King), Target Corp., and Howard Hughes Holdings, where he serves as Executive Chairman. He is widely described as a “king of activist investing” known for doggedly criticizing corporate and institutional leadership, including his 2023 public criticism of Harvard University’s handling of student protests. Ackman holds an MBA from Harvard Business School and has published views asserting that markets are not overvalued, emphasizing AI’s role in
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