for fun?


Bill Ackman

@BillAckman
I first learned about Warren Buffett from a college classmate when I was 20 years old. Four years later, I read my first Berkshire Hathaway shareholder letter and I was inspired to become an investor.

When I entered the investment business at 26 and started a small hedge fund with $3 million under management, I thought that perhaps some day I could build a diversified holding company like Berkshire with an extraordinary long-term record.

One of the most compelling parts of the Berkshire story is its modest beginnings. Berkshire was a dying textile company losing out to foreign competitors. The story of how Buffett bought control of the company, redirected cash from a dying business into an insurance company, a bank, manufacturing businesses, a railroad, a securities portfolio, and more, over time, is legendary.

A big part of the appeal of Berkshire is that anyone who could afford one share, about $20 back in the early 1960s, could participate in the compounding of that value over time. A good part of the Buffett legend is that everyone could participate as long as they could afford at least one share.

At 4pm, we are going to announce a potential transaction which, if completed, will provide me and my firm with the opportunity to create our own, you might say, modern-day version of Berkshire. Fortunately, our starting base of assets won't be a dying textile company, but a very good business.

We will adopt similar, long-term, shareholder-oriented principles to Berkshire, and we intend to hold the stock forever.

If you find any of the above interesting, please read my 4pm post and join me and my team on our X presentation tomorrow at 9am. After the formal part of the presentation, we will launch an X Spaces where we will take questions from the participants in the order in which they are asked, until you have no further questions.

If you decide you like what we are doing, we welcome you to join us as a partner, and buy a share or two.