When the Wolves Bite: Two Billionaires, One Company, and an Epic Wall Street Battle
by Scott Wapner · 23 Apr 2018 · 302pp · 80,287 words
threatened to destroy him. It was spring 2014, and the most closely followed multilevel marketing company on Earth was under siege. For the better part of eighteen months, Wall Street’s resident rock star, the hedge-fund manager William A. Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management, had waged war against the company, burning through
…
finally—for the very first time, Johnson and Herbalife’s other executives felt they could begin to understand why the war had happened in the first place. It was a war that began with little more than a phone call. 2 THE PITCH William Ackman was sitting in his office at 888
…
new seed money from his old buddy at Leucadia National, Joseph Steinberg—the man he’d partnered with on the old Rockefeller deal—Ackman launched Pershing Square Capital Management and named the firm for the area in Manhattan near Grand Central Station where its first office was. Fancying himself an activist, Ackman followed a
…
a celebrity on Wall Street. As more people began following his every move, Pershing Square’s assets grew, and grew rapidly. By 2007, they had ballooned to almost $5 billion. The legend of Bill Ackman was growing with both the public and his peers. It would lead to one of the biggest bets of Ackman’
…
s career. On July 16, 2007, Pershing Square unveiled a position in the retailer Target, claiming in the filing that the
…
Bill Ackman has the blood on his hands for being the architect and the recruiter of Ron Johnson and then the co-author of the strategy.”45 Ackman would call JC Penney “probably the worst investment I’ve made.”46 By mid-2012, with the Penney’s debacle escalating and the Target wound still fresh, Pershing Square
…
Capital was underperforming the S&P 500 Index and the Dow Jones Industrial Average.47 Bill Ackman was feeling the heat. 4 SELLING A DREAM The ambulance eased its way through the
…
not its most interested and intrigued member—Bill Ackman. 6 THE BIG SHORT After returning an impressive 29.7 percent, net of fees, in 2010,1 largely due to the GGP home run and gains in other stocks within his portfolio, 2011 had gotten off to a rocky start for Pershing Square and its principal.2
…
big contacts in the industry and from Ackman’s point of view was the perfect person to drop the bomb. Just before 2 p.m., Kelly busted into CNBC’s regularly scheduled programming with the “breaking news.” “I’ve just learned that Pershing Square hedge-fund manager Bill Ackman has a major new short
…
key hallmarks of a pyramid scheme. “Do we even know if any retail customers exist?” Dinneen asked, almost rhetorically. Over three and a half blistering hours, Ackman, Dinneen, and Pershing Square attorney David Klafter shuttled through 343 slides. Herbalife shares, which had fallen 12 percent the day before on the Kelly scoop, plunged
…
pyramid scheme rather than a legitimate multilevel marketing business,” said the Greenberg letter.3 The NCL said it had met with representatives of both Pershing Square and Herbalife and had gotten conflicting points of view, which only muddied its viewpoint. It also seemed to suggest which way it was leaning in its vetting
…
up, OK. It’s a certainty. The stock’s irrelevant!” he said even more forcefully to make his point. Then it was time. “Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, Mr. Bill Ackman,” said the announcer as Ackman walked out from behind the curtain to begin. Ackman had spent months prepping
…
break at any moment. Bill Ackman knew that better than most. After living through the Gotham death spiral more than a decade earlier, the JC Penney debacle, and the first eighteen turbulent months of his Herbalife crusade, Ackman finally appeared to catch a wave in early 2015. His fund, Pershing Square, had killed it
…
the year before, scoring amazing returns that vaulted him to the very top of the hedge-fund industry. “Bill Ackman Wins 2014,” said Forbes
…
of Ackman’s incredible returns.1 “Bill Ackman, Pershing Square Deliver Legendary Performance,” said USA Today.2 “I told
…
done so already, we would, therefore, respectfully ask that you investigate who is responsible for these (and other) large, suspicious put option trades and what their connection is to Mr. Ackman and/or Pershing Square.”47 A Pershing Square spokesperson called Herbalife’s accusations “false,” but there was no denying that Ackman was squarely on the
…
Pressure,” Barron’s, December 5, 2005. 16. Gretchen Morgenson and Geraldine Fabrikant, “A Rescue Ploy Now Haunts a Hedge Fund That Had It All,” New York Times, January 19, 2003. 17. Ibid. 18. Deposition by Attorney General, State of New York, of William Ackman In re Gotham Partners Investigation, May 28, 2003. 19
…
“Bill Ackman to Hedge-Fund Investors: ‘I Neglected to Apologize,’” Wall Street Journal, February 9, 2009. 44. Joseph Guinto, “Who Wrecked JC Penney?,” D Magazine, November 2013. 45. Drew Sandholm, “Howard Schultz Slams Ackman Over JC Penney Fight,” CNBC.com, August 9, 2013. 46. William Ackman, “Harbor Investment Conference,” February 13, 2015. 47. Pershing Square Capital Management Letter
…
and Lisa Du, “The World’s Top Hedge Funders Presented Their Top Picks Yesterday,” Business Insider, May 16, 2012. Chapter 6: The Big Short 1. Katherine Burton, “Defeat at JC Penney Hurts Ackman as Performance Trails,” Bloomberg, August 14, 2013. 2. Letter to Investors, Pershing Square Capital Management, November 22, 2011. 3. Joseph Checker, “Bill Ackman
…
Likely Takes $200 Million Bath on Borders,” Wall Street Journal, May 19, 2011. 4. Ibid. 5. Ibid. 6. Letter to Investors, Pershing Square Capital Management, November 22, 2011. 7. Shira Ovide, “Bill Ackman Buys 12.2% Stake in Canadian Pacific Railway,” Wall
…
Street Journal, October 28, 2011. 8. Michael De La Merced, “Ackman Buys into Penney and Fortune,” New York Times DealBook, October 8, 2010. 9. Investor Letter, Pershing Square Capital Management, November 22, 2011. 10. Brad
…
Tuttle, “Why JC Penney’s No More Coupons Experiment Is Failing,” Time, May 17, 2012. 11. JC Penney Quarterly Earnings Report Conference Call Transcript, May 15, 2012. 12. Agustino Fontevecchia, “At Ira Sohn, Bill Ackman
…
22% Surge in Herbalife Bet: Retail,” Bloomberg, September 18, 2013. 20. Herbalife Official Transcript, “Herbalife Announces Record Third Quarter 2013 and Introduces 2014 Earnings Guidance,” October 28, 2013. 21. Letter to Investors, Pershing Square Capital Management, October 2, 2013. 22. Robin Hood Investment Conference, Ackman Presentation, November 22, 2013. 23. Duane D. Stanford, “Ackman
…
Zero. 21. Jonathan Berr, “Herbalife Wins a Round Against Bill Ackman,” CBS Money Watch, July 22, 2014. 22. Herbalife Earnings Call Transcript, July 28, 2014. 23. Herbalife Earnings Call Transcript, November 4, 2014. 24. Ibid. 25. Ibid. 26. Ibid. 27. Letter to Investors, Pershing Square Capital Management, November 25, 2014. 28. Ibid. 29. Top 20
…
Hedge Funds, LCH Investments. 30. Svea Herbst-Bayliss, “Exclusive: Ackman’s Pershing Square Makes $3.3 Billion Bet on Valeant,” Reuters, March 9, 2015. Chapter 13: The Year That Wasn’t 1. Nathan Vardi, “Bill Ackman Wins 2014,” Forbes, November 17, 2014. 2. Jordan Walthen, “Bill Ackman, Pershing Square
…
91.5 Million for Condo at NYC’s One57,” Bloomberg, April 10, 2015. 8. Ibid. 9. Alexandra Stevenson, “Bill Ackman and His Hedge Fund, Betting Big,” New York Times, October 25, 2014. 10. Svea Herbst-Bayliss, “Exclusive: Ackman’s Pershing Square Makes $3.3 Billion Bet on Valeant,” Reuters, March 9, 2015. 11. Nathan Vardi
…
, “Bill Ackman Outs Valeant CEO Mike Pearson as a Billionaire,” Fortune, April 22, 2014. 12. Devin Leonard and Caroline Chen, “Valeant’s Boss Is Back: Can the CEO Save
…
the Day, Again?” Bloomberg, March 3, 2016. 13. Allergan News Release, “Allergan Files Lawsuit in Federal Court Against Valeant and Pershing Square for Violations of
…
a Two-Year Low After Ackman’s Presentation,” Bloomberg, October 30, 2015. 49. Michelle Celarier, “Bill Ackman and Michael Pearson: The Inside Story,” Fortune, March 27, 2016. 50. Ibid. 51. Michael Johnson, “Market Manipulation by Hedge Fund Short Seller William Ackman,” personal letter in author’s possession, November 12, 2015. 52. Ibid. 53. Svea Herbst
…
-Bayliss, “Ackman Tells Investors That This Year Could Be His Firm’s Worst Ever,” Reuters, December 16, 2015. 54. Nathan Vardi, “Billionaire Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square Hedge Fund Is Down 19% in
…
2015,” Forbes, November 2, 2015. 55. Reuters Staff, “Bill Ackman Says His Fund Is Having Its Worst Year Ever,” Fortune, December 16, 2015. 56. Federal Trade Commission Press Release, “FTC Acts to Halt Vemma as Alleged Pyramid Scheme,” August 26, 2015. 57. Pershing Square Capital Management Letter to
…
Fast Money: Halftime Report, March 1, 2016. 11. Linda A. Johnson, “Valeant’s Stock Loses Half Its Value,” US News and World Report, March 15, 2016. 12. Letter to Investors, Pershing Square Capital Management, March 15, 2016. 13. Jen Wieczner, “Valeant CEO Promises Company Won’t Go Bankrupt in Staff Memo,” Fortune, March 18,
…
2016. 14. Letter to Investors, Pershing Square Capital Management, May 11, 2016. 15. CNBC, Fast Money: Halftime Report, May 2, 2016. 16. Matthew Townsend, “Herbalife Soars After Saying It’s Close to FTC Resolution
…
to Group That Included Bill Ackman,” Wall Street Journal, August 26, 2016. 5. CNBC, Squawk Box, August 26, 2016. 6. Carl Icahn, “Carl Icahn Issues Statement Regarding Herbalife,” carlicahn.com, August 26, 2016. 7. Letter to Investors, Pershing Square Capital Management, December 7, 2016. Coda: Big Thoughts 1. Alon Brav, Wei Jiang, and Hyunseob Kim, “The
…
Real Effects of Hedge Fund Activism: Productivity, Asset Allocation, and Industry Concentration,” Abstract, p 1. INDEX AB Electrolux, 120 Ackman, William A., 1
…
in 2012, 78–80, 81, 83, 89 statement to author about Hallwood issue, 102 taking Pershing Square public, 180 and Valeant, 174–175, 178, 210 visit to FTC headquarters, 142 worst investment of, 40 See also Pershing Square Capital Management Ackman-Ziff real-estate brokerage firm, 24 Actavis, 170 activists. See consumer activists; shareholder activists Albright
…
175, 181, 193 Peltz, Nelson, 1 Penn Virginia Corporation, 92 PepsiCo, 1 Perenchio, Jerry, 82–83 Peretz, Martin H., 28, 153 Perrica, Xenia, 145–146 Pershing Square Capital Management, 5, 14, 70, 71, 75, 143, 145, 164 advisory board of, 153 assets growth/decline of, 37, 181, 210 holdings in 2016, 209 investment committee
One Click: Jeff Bezos and the Rise of Amazon.com
by Richard L. Brandt · 27 Oct 2011 · 222pp · 54,506 words
William Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management, has proposed an unusual tactic: buying Barnes & Noble, a company more than twice its size. In December 2010, Ackman proposed a price of nearly $960 million, and
The Golden Passport: Harvard Business School, the Limits of Capitalism, and the Moral Failure of the MBA Elite
by Duff McDonald · 24 Apr 2017 · 827pp · 239,762 words
and Bill Ackman
…
and ended up building an institution. It ends with the smugness of Bill Ackman of Pershing Square Capital Management
…
Bill Ackman
…
Bill Ackman
…
Bill Ackman
…
and Bill Ackman
…
bill-ackman-on-creating-value/. 31http://www.nytimes.com/2014/10/26/business/bill-ackman-and
Dear Chairman: Boardroom Battles and the Rise of Shareholder Activism
by Jeff Gramm · 23 Feb 2016 · 384pp · 103,658 words
and his kindred spirits at funds such as Pershing Square, Jana, Ramius and Starboard Value, Greenlight, and
…
Bill Ackman and the rest of JCPenney’s
…
Bill Ackman Now?” Bloomberg Markets, February 2015. 2. Pershing Square Capital Management LP, Securities and Exchange Commission Schedule 13F, November 14, 2014. The 13F excludes foreign positions, unlisted companies, debt securities, and short positions. 3. These figures are from the presentation “Think Big,” Pershing Square Capital Management
Big Mistakes: The Best Investors and Their Worst Investments
by Michael Batnick · 21 May 2018 · 198pp · 53,264 words
Bill Ackman
…
Bill Ackman
…
Pershing Square Capital Management. He began with $10 million of his own money and $50 million raised from a single investor, and
…
and letting the chips fall where they may. Bill Ackman rose from the ashes of Gotham Partners like a phoenix and
…
Bill Ackman
…
and a month later, disclosures showed he owned 12.98% of the company. Carl Icahn and Dan Loeb against Bill Ackman
…
And nobody played up their successes better than Bill Ackman. Bill Ackman once said, “If I think I'm right, I can be the most persistent and
…
Pershing Square Capital Management, LP, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” (presentation, December 20, 2012). 15. Bill Ackman
…
Bill Ackman Toast?” 19. Quoted in Nocera, “Short Seller.” 20. Pershing Square Capital Management, “Who Wants to Be a Millionaire?” 21. Roger Parloff, “Herbalife Deal Poses Challenges for the Industry,” Fortune, July 19, 2016. 22. Betting on Zero (motion picture), Filmbuff and
…
Pershing Square Capital Management
The Antisocial Network: The GameStop Short Squeeze and the Ragtag Group of Amateur Traders That Brought Wall Street to Its Knees
by Ben Mezrich · 6 Sep 2021 · 239pp · 74,845 words
selling funds struggled to cover their positions. Similarly, a battle between two hedge fund titans—Bill Ackman, of Pershing Square Capital Management, and Carl Icahn—led to a squeeze involving supplement maker—and alleged pyramid marketer—Herbalife, which cost Ackman a reported $1 billion. And perhaps the first widely reported short squeeze dated back a century, to 1923, when
Billionaires' Row: Tycoons, High Rollers, and the Epic Race to Build the World's Most Exclusive Skyscrapers
by Katherine Clarke · 13 Jun 2023 · 454pp · 127,319 words
and sure enough, major buyers included Michael Dell and Bill Ackman
…
Bill Ackman, who had been introduced to the building by his go-to interior designer, Anthony Ingrao, who had insisted that Ackman visit the sales office and see the property’s model unit. The silver-haired head of Pershing Square Capital Management
…
Bill Ackman
Wait: The Art and Science of Delay
by Frank Partnoy · 15 Jan 2012 · 342pp · 94,762 words
and selling. He does not respond to everything he sees. Instead, he delays his reactions as much as possible. His short-term discount rate is low. He is focused on the long haul. Bill Ackman, the founder of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management
…
and we should try to minimize our trading and be as patient as Warren Buffett and Bill Ackman
…
Bill Ackman
…
Bill Ackman
Summer of Our Discontent: The Age of Certainty and the Demise of Discourse
by Thomas Chatterton Williams · 4 Aug 2025 · 242pp · 76,315 words
Bill Ackman, their most outspoken participant and
…
and False,” Atlantic, Oct. 27, 2023. *14 Agnes Callamard (@AgnesCallamard), X, Oct. 7, 2023, 4:24 p.m., x.com/AgnesCallamard/status/1710752942578368793. *15 “Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management
Nobody's Fool: Why We Get Taken in and What We Can Do About It
by Daniel Simons and Christopher Chabris · 10 Jul 2023 · 338pp · 104,815 words
Bill Ackman, the founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, invited Spier to his office to discuss the Farmer Mac idea. Upon arriving, Spier saw that Ackman had a shelf filled with annual reports and other documents from Farmer, annotated with sticky notes and
The Alpha Masters: Unlocking the Genius of the World's Top Hedge Funds
by Maneet Ahuja, Myron Scholes and Mohamed El-Erian · 29 May 2012 · 302pp · 86,614 words
What Went Wrong: How the 1% Hijacked the American Middle Class . . . And What Other Countries Got Right
by George R. Tyler · 15 Jul 2013 · 772pp · 203,182 words
Shaky Ground: The Strange Saga of the U.S. Mortgage Giants
by Bethany McLean · 13 Sep 2015 · 160pp · 6,876 words
Chaos Kings: How Wall Street Traders Make Billions in the New Age of Crisis
by Scott Patterson · 5 Jun 2023 · 289pp · 95,046 words
100 Baggers: Stocks That Return 100-To-1 and How to Find Them
by Christopher W Mayer · 21 May 2018
The Revolution That Wasn't: GameStop, Reddit, and the Fleecing of Small Investors
by Spencer Jakab · 1 Feb 2022 · 420pp · 94,064 words
The Art of Execution: How the World's Best Investors Get It Wrong and Still Make Millions
by Lee Freeman-Shor · 8 Sep 2015 · 121pp · 31,813 words
How Boards Work: And How They Can Work Better in a Chaotic World
by Dambisa Moyo · 3 May 2021 · 272pp · 76,154 words
The Fund: Ray Dalio, Bridgewater Associates, and the Unraveling of a Wall Street Legend
by Rob Copeland · 7 Nov 2023 · 412pp · 122,655 words
Confidence Game: How a Hedge Fund Manager Called Wall Street's Bluff
by Christine S. Richard · 26 Apr 2010 · 459pp · 118,959 words
Flash Boys: A Wall Street Revolt
by Michael Lewis · 30 Mar 2014 · 250pp · 87,722 words