William Ackman
Chairman at
HOWARD HUGHES HOLDINGS INC.
Net worth: 2 408 M $ as of 2026-02-27
Profile
William (Bill) Ackman is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, an American hedge fund that holds shares in Wendy’s International and McDonald’s Corporation. As well it has interest in Target Corp., the second largest discount company in US.
Graduated at Harvard College, he holds also an MBA from Harvard Business School. He began his career working for his father in the real estate, and in 1993 he founded Gotham Partners Management Co. This investment company encounters some troubles including legal problems that will lead to its dissolution in 2003.
In 2004, William Ackman comes back on the financial stage. He has created Pershing Square Capital, and he showed a lot of activism buying massive share in the lowest price for resale in two years maximum. A short-term strategy often criticized by the US Medias. His different attacks against FSA, American division of Dexia, and also against MBIA and Ambac, that it forecast the collapse, earned him a strong enmity in financial world.
In 2007, William Ackman took a share up to 5 millions of dollar (3,5%) in Sears Holdings, third group in distribution sector in US, behind Wal-Mart and Home Depot.
Pershing Square Capital Management manages approximately 2.4 billion of dollar of which 40% was invested in shares of McDonald.
Known holdings in public companies
| Company | Date | Number of shares | Valuation | Valuation date |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2024-12-30 | 41,444,970 ( 23.57% ) | 2 408 M $ | 2026-02-27 |
Latest news about William Ackman
William Ackman active positions
| Companies | Position | Start |
|---|---|---|
| HOWARD HUGHES HOLDINGS INC. | Chairman | 2025-05-04 |
Pershing Square Capital Management LP
 Pershing Square Capital Management LP Investment ManagersFinance PSCM is a concentrated, research-intensive, fundamental value investor in the public markets. The firm generally focuses on high-quality businesses, which they believe has limited downside and that generate predictable, recurring cash flow, and in certain cases seeks to catalyze managerial, operating and governance changes as levers to create substantial, enduring and long-term shareholder value. PSCM aims to manage risks through careful investment selection and portfolio construction, engaging in typically only one to three new core investments each year. PSCM is an activist firm and is included in the SharkWatch50 as one of the 50 most prominent and impactful activist investors. | Chief Executive Officer | 2003-12-31 |
Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition
 Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Operates as a non-profit advocacy organization that supports works to enable the open sharing of research outputs and educational materials | Chairman | - |
TABLE Management LP
 TABLE Management LP Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Provides management services | Corporate Officer/Principal | 2010-12-31 |
Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance
 Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Provides cancer research services | Director/Board Member | - |
Pershing Square SPARC Holdings Ltd.
 Pershing Square SPARC Holdings Ltd. MiscellaneousMiscellaneous Functions as an investment holding company | Chief Executive Officer | 2020-12-31 |
The Rockefeller University
 The Rockefeller University Other Consumer ServicesConsumer Services Functions as a College/University | Director/Board Member | - |
Pershing Square International Ltd.
 Pershing Square International Ltd. Investment Trusts/Mutual FundsMiscellaneous Acts as Hedge Fund | Corporate Officer/Principal | - |
Former positions of William Ackman
| Companies | Position | End |
|---|---|---|
| UNIVERSAL MUSIC GROUP N.V. | Director/Board Member | 2025-05-13 |
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Training of William Ackman
Experiences
Positions held
Active
Inactive
Listed companies
Private companies
Connections
59
1st degree connections
28
1st degree companies
Male
Female
Members of the board
Executives
Linked companies
| Private companies | 28 |
|---|---|
Winthrop Realty Trust, Inc.
 Winthrop Realty Trust, Inc. Real Estate Investment TrustsFinance Operates as a real estate investment trust that engages in owns and manages property assets | Finance |
Old COPPER Co., Inc.
 Old COPPER Co., Inc. Apparel/Footwear RetailRetail Trade Retails men's, women's, kids fashion clothes, jewelry, beauty products and shoes through online | Retail Trade |
GGP, Inc.
 GGP, Inc. Real Estate Investment TrustsFinance Provides real estate services | Finance |
Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd.
 Canadian Pacific Railway Ltd. RailroadsTransportation Provides rail and intermodal transportation services | Transportation |
Imperial Parking Corp.
 Imperial Parking Corp. Other Consumer ServicesConsumer Services Offers parking management services | Consumer Services |
Gotham Partners LP
 Gotham Partners LP Financial ConglomeratesFinance Private equity firm | Finance |
Pershing Square International Ltd.
Pershing Square International Ltd. Investment Trusts/Mutual FundsMiscellaneous Acts as Hedge Fund | Miscellaneous |
Justice Holdings Ltd.
 Justice Holdings Ltd. Financial ConglomeratesFinance Special purpose acquisition vehicle | Finance |
Gotham Partners Management Co. LLC
 Gotham Partners Management Co. LLC Investment ManagersFinance Pershing Square Capital Management is a concentrated, research-intensive, fundamental value investor in the public markets. Their funds’ investment objectives are to preserve capital and to seek maximum, long-term capital appreciation commensurate with reasonable risk. The firm defines risk as the probability of a permanent loss of capital, rather than price volatility. In their value approach to investing, Pershing Square seeks to identify and invest in long and short investment opportunities they believe exhibit significant valuation discrepancies between current trading prices and intrinsic business (or net asset) value, often with a catalyst for value recognition. They focus on deeply undervalued or overvalued securities due to their belief that a well-priced purchase or short sale is often the most important determinant of the success of an investment. In addition, Pershing Square believes that the acquisition of a portfolio of investments, when acquired at a large discount to intrinsic value, provides a margin of safety that can mitigate the likelihood of an overall permanent loss of each fund’s capital. Pershing Square is an activist firm and is included in the SharkWatch50 as one the 50 most prominent activist investors. | Finance |
Zoetis, Inc.
 Zoetis, Inc. Pharmaceuticals: MajorHealth Technology Develops animal vaccines and prescriptions medicines | Health Technology |
Pershing Square Capital Management LP
Pershing Square Capital Management LP Investment ManagersFinance PSCM is a concentrated, research-intensive, fundamental value investor in the public markets. The firm generally focuses on high-quality businesses, which they believe has limited downside and that generate predictable, recurring cash flow, and in certain cases seeks to catalyze managerial, operating and governance changes as levers to create substantial, enduring and long-term shareholder value. PSCM aims to manage risks through careful investment selection and portfolio construction, engaging in typically only one to three new core investments each year. PSCM is an activist firm and is included in the SharkWatch50 as one of the 50 most prominent and impactful activist investors. | Finance |
The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group LLC
 The Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group LLC Real Estate DevelopmentFinance Provides capital markets consulting and investment banking services | Finance |
The Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University Other Consumer ServicesConsumer Services Functions as a College/University | Consumer Services |
The Howard Hughes Corp.
 The Howard Hughes Corp. Real Estate DevelopmentFinance Develops residential condominium and commercial property projects | Finance |
Canadian Pacific Railway Co.
 Canadian Pacific Railway Co. Other TransportationTransportation Provides rail and intermodal freight transportation services | Transportation |
Boys & Girls Harbor, Inc.
 Boys & Girls Harbor, Inc. Services to the Health IndustryHealth Services Provides child and youth care services | Health Services |
Bausch Health Cos., Inc.
 Bausch Health Cos., Inc. Pharmaceuticals: OtherHealth Technology Manufactures and markets pharmaceutical products | Health Technology |
Pershing Square Foundation | |
Pershing Square Holdings Ltd.
 Pershing Square Holdings Ltd. Investment Trusts/Mutual FundsMiscellaneous Acts as Closed-End Investment Fund/Investment Trust | Miscellaneous |
Harvard Business School
 Harvard Business School Other Consumer ServicesConsumer Services Functions as a College/University | Consumer Services |
Harvard College
 Harvard College Other Consumer ServicesConsumer Services Functions as a College/University | Consumer Services |
TABLE Management LP
TABLE Management LP Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Provides management services | Commercial Services |
Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd.
 Pershing Square Tontine Holdings Ltd. Financial ConglomeratesFinance Operates as blank check company | Finance |
Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition
Scholarly Publishing & Academic Resources Coalition Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Operates as a non-profit advocacy organization that supports works to enable the open sharing of research outputs and educational materials | Commercial Services |
Universal Music Group NV
 Universal Music Group NV Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Provides recorded music, publishing, related merchandise and audiovisual content services | Commercial Services |
Pershing Square SPARC Holdings Ltd.
Pershing Square SPARC Holdings Ltd. MiscellaneousMiscellaneous Functions as an investment holding company | Miscellaneous |
Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance
Pershing Square Sohn Cancer Research Alliance Miscellaneous Commercial ServicesCommercial Services Provides cancer research services | Commercial Services |
Howard Hughes Holdings, Inc.
 Howard Hughes Holdings, Inc. Real Estate DevelopmentFinance Operates as a holding company and provides owns, manages and develops commercial & residential real estate | Finance |
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