If you want to see how the world's wealthiest investors made their fortunes, look at the stocks they've bought over the years. But if you want to see how the world's wealthiest investors could grow even richer, look at the stocks they own now.
Take Bill Ackman, for example. The hedge fund manager's net worth is around $9 billion. He has 100% of his Pershing Square Capital Management's $12.7 billion portfolio invested in only 11 stocks.
Not the most diversified portfolio
As you might imagine, Ackman doesn't have the most diversified portfolio around. That's impossible when you own only 11 stocks, two of which are different classes of shares offered by the same company. But the lack of diversification goes even further.
For example, two of Pershing Square's 11 stocks are restaurant operators. Many Americans are familiar with Chipotle Mexican Grill, which owns over 3,200 Mexican restaurants in the U.S., Canada, and Europe. While you might not be as familiar with Restaurant Brands International as a company, you'll almost certainly know some of its brands: Burger King, Firehouse Subs, Popeye's, and Tim Horton's.
Ackman also owns two consumer cyclical stocks that are highly sensitive to consumer spending. Hilton Worldwide Holdings operates hotels under 24 brands, including Hilton, Doubletree, Embassy Suites, Hampton, and Waldorf Astoria. Nike is a household name and markets a wide range of shoes, apparel, and sports equipment.
Another couple of the billionaire hedge fund manager's stocks focus on real estate and have a history together. Howard Hughes Holdings develops master planned communities in the U.S. The company spun off Seaport Entertainment Group, which owns entertainment-related real estate properties, in 2024.
Other Ackman holdings offer a little more diversification. Canadian alternative investment management company Brookfield Corp. makes up roughly 15.8% of Pershing Square's portfolio. Ackman's hedge fund owns a stake of around $1 billion in the railroad operator Canadian Pacific Kansas City. He also recently initiated a new position in the rental car company Hertz Global Holdings.
The best of the bunch
However, I don't think any of those is Ackman's best stock. What is the best of the bunch in the billionaire's portfolio? My pick is Google parent Alphabet (GOOG 0.56%) (GOOGL 0.42%).
NASDAQ: GOOGL
Key Data Points
Pershing Square owns 3.99 million Alphabet Class A shares and 7.55 million Alphabet Class C shares. These two stocks combined comprise around 17.3% of the hedge fund's total portfolio. That makes Alphabet the company in which Ackman is invested the most.
Why did I choose Alphabet as the best Ackman stock? For one thing, it's a financial fortress. In Alphabet's latest quarter, its revenue increased 12% year over year to $90.2 billion. The company reported earnings of over $35.5 billion, up a whopping 50% year over year. Its cash stockpile, including cash, cash equivalents, and marketable securities, topped $95 billion as of March 31, 2025.
Even better, though, I believe Alphabet has tremendous growth prospects. Despite worries about how generative AI might impact Google Search, the company's search-related revenue continues to grow. And generative AI is helping rather than hurting, with AI Overviews integrated with Google Search boosting search usage and customer satisfaction.
Google Cloud is the fastest-growing major cloud service provider. This business is also becoming much more profitable, with operating margin increased from 9.4% in the first quarter of 2024 to 17.8% in the first quarter of 2025.
I'm highly bullish about Alphabet's Waymo self-driving car unit, too. The business is focused on the autonomous ride-hailing (robotaxi) market for now. However, Alphabet and Google CEO Sundar Pichai said there's "future optionality around personal ownership as well."
One dark cloud hovering over Alphabet
Not everything is sunshine and roses for Alphabet, though. Google has now lost two federal antitrust cases. Last year, a federal judge ruled that the company operated an illegal monopoly in search. Earlier this month, another federal judge determined that Google violated the law with its open-web digital advertising strategy.
I'd be lying if I said these cases aren't concerning. However, Google's appeals of the lawsuits could take years. The company could prevail. Even if not, the remedies that might be required could be less worrisome than anticipated.
Ackman isn't panicking, as evidenced by his continued large position in Alphabet. I don't think other investors should, either. If you're looking for the stock in the billionaire's portfolio most likely to make him and you a lot of money over the next decade, I think Alphabet is it.
