StarZero All shows Try the podcast clipper →

Bill Ackman

Founder and CEO, Pershing Square Capital Management · 1 appearance on the record, plus 1 compilation re-air.

computed by AI from the episodes · how this works → · full disclaimer →

investorfounderexecutive@BillAckman ↗pershingsquareholdings.com ↗Wikipedia ↗

Bill Ackman is an activist hedge fund manager who oversees concentrated public equity investments through Pershing Square Capital Management, which he founded in 2004 after co-founding Gotham Partners. He is widely recognized for high-stakes corporate campaigns and macro hedges.

33statements → 14claims → 3claims resolved → 67%fully supported → 3.97/5average certainty → 2.52/5average debate potential → 4.0/5argument clarity · the sources → 15said about them ↓

2 supported 1 partly supported 0 contradicted 4 not yet assessed 7 not checkable as stated how the 14 claims stand · each chip opens the sources

7 predictions · 7 assertions · 2 opinions · 6 insights · 10 disclosures · 1 what if · every statement was checked. The predictions and assertions are the 14 claims: statements the public record can support or contradict. 3 are resolved, 4 are not yet assessed, and 7 name no date, number or outcome precise enough to check. Everything else (opinions, insights, what ifs, disclosures) can never be settled by the record, so it carries no assessment.

The record, in short

What the tape says about how Bill argues and how the claims held up. Everything they said, and everything said about them, is in the tabs below.

Their most notable supported claim

Assertion Supported
Four of Gotham Partners' Debut LPs Were Forbes 400 Billionaires
“But of the original six, four of the six were in the four, 400 wealthiest people in America.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 1:31 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings

Argument clarity: do they answer the question? how? →

4.0 / 5 directness 3.9 · coherence 4.1 · precision 4.1 · compression 3.6

redirected or did not address 9 of 43 assessed questions (21%). Watch them ▸

This is a score against a rubric. It is not a rank. Every host question → answer exchange is scored with names hidden on directness, coherence, precision and compression, 1–5 each, on meaning alone: disfluencies are ignored, and only raw unedited episodes count. This is the score that measures thought. Every scored exchange, scores shown → · The rubric and its checks →

How they sound: speaking style how? →

287 words/min while actually speaking · 24.8 um and uh per 1k words · 16.4 false starts per 1k · 31.4% of pauses land inside a clause

Measured by listening to the audio itself: 11,084 words across 1 episode of raw-level tape, transcribed verbatim with every um and uh kept, each one attributed only where the alignment onto our timed stream is unambiguous. These are measurements of speaking style. We do not rank them: across this corpus, fluency and argument quality are nearly uncorrelated (ρ≈0.2), and smooth talking does not signal clear thinking. How it's measured →

How the interview went all their pushback → series average →

Across 3 rated episodes:

host pushback ▾ 2.3/10
pushed back at the host ▾ 2/10
setup questions received 70%

Everything Bill Ackman said on 20VC that made the record, most notable first. Filter by type, assessment or year in the ledger →

Prediction Not checkable as stated
Ackman: Biden wealth tax will bankrupt every startup in America
“You know, the Biden wealth tax, which is like, 25% of the appreciation of things that you own privately, it's going to bankrupt every startup. No one will ever start a business in America anymore, right?”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 1:02:23 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
What-if
Ackman: Lack of SVB Guarantee Would Have Caused Regional Bank Runs
“Woke up Saturday morning after the events of the week, pretty convinced that if the government didn't, at a minimum, guarantee deposits at Silicon Valley Bank, we'd have a massive run at pretty much every regional bank on Monday.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 27:00 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Ackman: Expanding immigration is the best way to curb inflation
“The best way to solve that problem is to open up immigration, right? Why, why force people out of work to slow the economy to get rid of inflation? Why not increase the supply of workers so that you know, we temper the increases in wages? I just think it's a b…”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 40:10 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Prediction Not publicly verifiable
Ackman: Donald Trump would defeat Joe Biden in a presidential matchup
“If it's Biden, Trump, I think Trump wins.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 40:41 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Opinion
Ackman: Asset managers do not need carried interest tax advantages
“I don't think we need that extra tax advantage. I carried interest when you're managing assets to motivate our economic behavior.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 1:03:24 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Ackman: Missing Out on Big Winners Can Be Worse Than Losing Capital
“Missing Google can be a, you know, as important a mistake, or maybe even a bigger mistake, if you will, than missing You know, the next, like some other making a bad investment that doesn't work, I guess is my fault.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 16:32 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Disclosure
Ackman: Pershing Square Lost $400 Million Exiting Netflix Position
“So we took about a billion dollar position in Netflix after the stock fell about 50%. And then, you know, we're a long term investor, but we learned information within a few months of the initial investment, i.e. The next quarter's results at Colt, caused us t…”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 17:06 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Not publicly verifiable
Ackman: 90% of Pershing Square Investments Over 20 Years Were Profitable
“The reality is, 90% of the investments we've made in the last 20 years have been profitable. In fact, meaningfully profitable.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 22:42 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Disclosure
Ackman: Pershing Square has never gone long or short regional banks
“We have never been short regional banks. We've never been long regional banks.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 28:05 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Ackman: Decent chance Fed Chair Powell pauses interest rate hikes
“And so I think there's a decent chance Powell says, you know, we've, we're not raising rates.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 38:24 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Ackman: A business leader running as a Democrat could defeat Trump
“And I think they can absolutely get the Democratic nominee And against Trump, they'll get the you know, the center and center right part of the Republican Party and can win.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 41:52 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Ackman: For-Profit Models Solve Most Problems Better Than Philanthropy
“And what I've learned from that is that philanthropy is, is often not the solution to many problems and that you know, business and for-profit business models are much more effective solutions to problems, most problems.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 44:12 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Prediction Open · timeframe Mar 2028
Ackman predicts persistent 3% to 4% inflation for foreseeable future
“The world is a structurally different place than it was for the last 20 odd years, and you're going to see persistent levels of inflation, you know, three to four percent inflation for the foreseeable future. I think that, that's certainly being missed based o…”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 51:55 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Disclosure
Ackman: Timidity in position sizing held back Pershing Square's results
“It was less than, it was about a point and a half of our, a little under two percent of our capital, but could it have been three percent? Could have been four percent for sure. And so when I look back at something like that, I would have been willing to lose …”
Bill Ackman Feb 9, 2024 ▶ 12:35 20VC: Doug Leone, Bill Ackman, Bill Gurley and Orlando Bravo on "Does Price Matter"; When to Pay Up vs When to Stay Disciplined, The Biggest Lessons on Price Discipline from 8 of the World's Best Investors
Disclosure
Ackman: Pershing Square made $2.8B hedging interest rates but was "timid"
“We should have made ten billion dollars on, on hedging interest rate risk. Instead we made 2.8 billion because we were a little timid.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 18:01 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Disclosure
Ackman: Pershing Square holds fund cash in U.S. Treasuries to avoid bank risk
“Other than cash we need for daily needs, we keep that number pretty small everything else is in a U.S. Treasury money market account, or we own U.S. Treasury bills directly. So we're not taking bank risks, we're just facing the U.S. Sovereign. And then the cas…”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 35:01 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Ackman: 98% of a successful marriage depends on partner selection
“So it starts with finding the right person, I would say. That's about 98%. You can have, you can choose the wrong person, and you can do all the right things, and it's not going to make for a great marriage. So I would say, it's a lot in the selection, the mut…”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 46:05 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Prediction Open · timeframe Mar 2033
Ackman: Universal Music Group is the best 10-year long holding
“Well, I would say of the businesses we own, I would say in an uncertain world, you got to own universal music company, universal music group. Because the one thing I'm confident about is more people will have music subscriptions or be streaming music from what…”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 53:56 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Prediction Not checkable as stated
Ackman: Monopolistic legacy companies are guaranteed to be disrupted by blockchain
“There are businesses that are guaranteed to be disrupted by blockchain that are old fashioned, old, you know, businesses that everyone hates because they're monopolists and you can disrupt them with blockchain technology. So I would be short those companies.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 54:46 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Assertion Not checkable as stated
Ackman: Universal Music Group has very little debt and high predictability
“If you're investing in the world's most dominant music company, Universal Music, it's, has very little debt. It has a great market position. You can predict business with a very high degree of confidence, and you're buying it at a fair price.”
Bill Ackman Feb 9, 2024 ▶ 11:19 20VC: Doug Leone, Bill Ackman, Bill Gurley and Orlando Bravo on "Does Price Matter"; When to Pay Up vs When to Stay Disciplined, The Biggest Lessons on Price Discipline from 8 of the World's Best Investors
Disclosure
Ackman: Pershing Square bought interest rate options striking above 93 bps
“We bought, in effect, the way to think about it is we bought a call option. That paid off when two-year interest rates went above 93 basis points, and we had about an eighteen-month term. And at the time we bought that instrument, two-year rates were at 12 bas…”
Bill Ackman Feb 9, 2024 ▶ 12:03 20VC: Doug Leone, Bill Ackman, Bill Gurley and Orlando Bravo on "Does Price Matter"; When to Pay Up vs When to Stay Disciplined, The Biggest Lessons on Price Discipline from 8 of the World's Best Investors
Assertion Supported
Four of Gotham Partners' Debut LPs Were Forbes 400 Billionaires
“But of the original six, four of the six were in the four, 400 wealthiest people in America.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 1:31 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Ackman: Established Entrepreneurs Are Receptive First LPs for Young Managers
“And what was interesting is the people who were entrepreneurs really liked the idea of backing a couple of young guy, a couple of young guys who were entrepreneurs. And I think that was a big part of the connection.”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 1:46 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings
Insight
Ackman: Disappointments in Business Came From Ignoring Initial Gut Instincts
“Probably, probably neither but I would say I form a view of a person's character pretty quickly, and the vast majority of the time I've been right with only a few disappointments, I would say. And the disappointments have been cases, in most cases, and there h…”
Bill Ackman Mar 20, 2023 ▶ 6:47 Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Long | E991 · 20VC with Harry Stebbings

Show 9statements(9 left)

The other half of the tape: Bill Ackman's own voice is left out of every number here. Other people bring the name up 15 times in 11 episodes on 20VC. every mention, with the transcript →

Who brings them up most Harry Stebbings 13Mario Schlosser 1Eric Liaw 1

Every mention by year

tap a year for its mentions
00448820222023202420252026episodesmentions
04820222023202420252026episodes it came up in
00142820222023202420252026episodesmentions per episode
2026 2 mentions in 1 episode
2025 2 mentions in 1 episode
2024 8 mentions in 7 episodes 1 per episode
2023 2 mentions in 1 episode
2022 1 mention in 1 episode

Appearances (2)

EpisodeDateSpeaking time
20VC: What are the World's Tech Leaders Running From? Fear? Insecurity? Poverty? What Driv compilation Jun 9, 2023 36s
Bill Ackman: SVB Collapse; Biden vs Trump; How I Lost $400M on Netflix; Bill's 10-Year Lon Mar 20, 2023 52m

Played on the show (1)

Episodes where a recording of Bill Ackman was played rather than Bill taking part, or where the tape carries an address with nobody putting questions to them. Listed because the words are on the record, kept out of every score on this page because they were not said on this show. We read this off the tape: who was spoken to, who was asked something, who answered whom.

EpisodeDateOn tapeWhat it is
20VC: Doug Leone, Bill Ackman, Bill Gurley and Orlando Bravo on "Does Price Matter"; When Feb 9, 2024 2m clip played
Made with StarZero

Turn any episode into a week of clips.

This entire site, over 1,200 episodes transcribed, diarized, checked and made playable, runs on the StarZero media pipeline. Drop in your own episode and the podcast clipper finds the moments worth sharing, cuts them, captions them, and reframes them for every feed.

Try the podcast clipper Learn more