Who is Bill Ackman, the billionaire hedge fund investor who campaigned against Harvard for alleged ‘antisemitism’? From his Herbalife feud to urging Joe Biden to step down – after donating to Democrats
- Ackman led a high-profile battle against presidents of Ivy League universities including Harvard, UPenn and MIT over alleged antisemitism amid the Israel-Gaza war – and Claudine Gay and Liz Magill resigned
- The Pershing Square founder and son of property mogul Lawrence Ackman has supported Al Gore, Barack Obama and Pete Buttigieg – but has also called on US President Joe Biden to step down
Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman is a well-known name in Wall Street for his short of bond insurer MBIA as well as his public feud with Herbalife. Forbes puts his net worth at US$4 billion.
But in recent months, the businessman, who is of Jewish descent, also led a campaign against elite US universities over the war in Gaza and university antisemitism policies, which eventually resulted in two high profile resignations.
But what else do we know about Bill Ackman?
Bill Ackman’s campaign against Harvard, his alma mater
Ackman led corporate America in denouncing elite, Ivy League US universities for failing to address what he claims is a rise in on campus antisemitism. When the Israel-Gaza war started last year, Ackman posted on X – where he has now more than 1.2 million followers – to target university presidents he alleged had not done enough to support Jewish students.
In particular, he took aim at his alma mater Harvard, as well as calling for the resignation of the presidents of MIT and the University of Pennsylvania.
Harvard President Claudine Gay, UPenn president Liz Magill and MIT president Sally Kornbluth all testified on Capitol Hill during a congressional hearing on December 5, 2023. The presidents were asked if “calling for the genocide of Jews” violated university rules on bullying and harassment.
“If speech turns into conduct, it can be harassment,” Magill responded, per AP News, with the other presidents echoing the sentiment.
Since the Israel-Gaza war started, pro-Palestine protests spread across US universities – and the rest of the world. The three presidents had previously commented on the difficulty of allowing protests and freedom of speech, while ensuring students’ actions don’t veer into antisemitism, per AP News.
Following their statements, Ackman took to X to slam the three for their “profound moral bankruptcy”. Magill soon stepped down. Harvard president Gay also resigned on January 2 after allegations of plagiarism over her published works emerged.