How did Bill Ackman make his money?

Ackman made his money as a professional investor and hedge fund manager, first with Gotham Partners and later with Pershing Square Capital Management.

What does Pershing Square invest in?

Pershing Square invests in large-cap value stocks and opportunistic hedges, such as short positions.

How much is Ackman worth?

Ackman is worth around $9 billion.

What stocks does Bill Ackman own?

Ackman owns Alphabet, Brookfield Corporation, auto rental company Hertz, Hilton Worldwide, Howard Hughes Holdings, Restaurant Brands, Seaport Entertainment, and Uber, among others.

Who Is Bill Ackman? | The Motley Fool

Meet the hedge fund manager who's worth $9 billion.

By Kristi Waterworth – Updated May 27, 2026 at 3:53 PM EST | Fact-checked by Margo Winton Parodi

Key Points

Ackman uses large shares in mismanaged firms to boost value and influence changes.
His successful bet against MBIA earned $1.4 billion during the 2007–2009 crisis.
Ackman's Pershing Square targets large-cap value stocks for significant returns.

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As it turned out, Ackman got the last laugh. MBIA collapsed during the 2007–2009 financial crisis. By 2009, Ackman had closed out his position and earned $1.4 billion. The deal made him one of the most famous investors on Wall Street once again.

Over the next several years, Pershing would also make billion-dollar profits on investments in Canadian Pacific Kansas City (CP -0.25%) and mall operator General Growth Properties. His style can be generally described as holding large positions in small groups of large-cap value stocks.

Career highlights

Opened Gotham Partners in 1992 with partner David Berkowitz.
Opened Pershing Square Capital Management in 2004.
Famously shorted MBIA and warned against the company's credit rating. The company's eventual fall earned him $1.4 billion in 2009.
Turned Canadian Pacific Railway around after acquiring a 14.2% stake, installing a new CEO, and reimagining the company's business strategy in 2011.
Invested $27 million in CDS in early 2020, banking on debt markets faltering in the pandemic. He walked away with $2.6 billion that same year.

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Philosophy & legacy

As an activist investor, Ackman's primary philosophy is that some companies are simply poorly managed or undervalued, and that by making large investments in them, he can influence them and help turn them around. Although he primarily takes long positions, he has also made a lot of money on shorts, including the short of MBIA, which he he believed was not being properly rated.

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Investing is a business where you can look very silly for a long period of time before you are proven right.
Bill Ackman

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Ackman hasn't published any books, but he has been very active on social media, especially X, where he has influenced millions of followers. Although no prominent investors have outright claimed that his influence has affected their investment decisions, his approach to activist investing has influenced many companies and how they conduct business.

He has also used his social media clout to push for the dissolution of diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) programs and to support other conservative talking points and candidates.

Awards, honors & recognition

2025 -- University of Haifa Honorary Doctorate

2025 -- Patriot Award from the Navy SEAL Foundation

2025 -- Rang the bell at the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange

Personal notes

In conjunction with the Columbia Business School, Ackman and Pershing Square launched the Pershing Square Value Investing and Philanthropy Challenge in 2008.

This challenge provides students with hands-on experience in selecting, researching, and pitching investment ideas. Students are then judged on the quality of both their ideas and research and their pitch delivery, by the same standards an investment committee would hold them to in a real-life pitch.

Pershing Square Philanthropies also awards several annual prizes in life sciences:

The Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Prize: Designed to support and establish a pipeline for early-stage biomedical investments that contribute to the fight against cancer
The MIND (Maximizing Innovation in Neuroscience Discovery) Prize: Seeks groundbreaking research ideas for neurodegenerative diseases
The Lotus Award: Goes to projects focused on investigating ovarian cancer or that could have an impact on ovarian cancer.

Each prize awards $250,000 per year for three years, for a total of $750,000.

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Bill Ackman: FAQ

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About the Author

Kristi Waterworth has been a contributing real estate and financial expert at The Motley Fool, covering real estate, investing, and personal finance topics, since 2020. Kristi has been interviewed by various TV media outlets and podcasts for her real estate investing expertise – from residential real estate to digital real estate and everything in between. Kristi’s journalist career spans over 25 years, and she has written about real estate investing, homeownership, and home construction specifically for the last decade. She was also previously a licensed Realtor and general building contractor before the Great Recession and housing market collapse. She holds a bachelor’s degree in American history from Columbia College in Missouri.

TMFMaldivesBlue

@MaldivesBlues

Kristi Waterworth has no position in any of the stocks mentioned. The Motley Fool has positions in and recommends Canadian Pacific Kansas City. The Motley Fool has a disclosure policy.

Who Is Bill Ackman?

Meet the hedge fund manager who's worth $9 billion.

Key Points

Career highlights

Philosophy & legacy

Awards, honors & recognition

Personal notes

Related investing topics

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Bill Ackman: FAQ

How did Bill Ackman make his money?

What does Pershing Square invest in?

How much is Ackman worth?

What stocks does Bill Ackman own?

Primary role

Investment strategy

Philosophy & legacy

Awards, honors & recognition

Personal notes

Related investing topics

Career highlights