Bill Ackman on OpenAI, tech stocks, and his big IPO

Bill Ackman finds himself having an IPO day.

The dual IPO of asset manager Pershing Square Inc. and his closed-end fund Pershing Square USA is slated to haul in $5 billion, toward the low end of his original $5 billion to $10 billion target. Institutional investors are covering 85% of the deal.

The combined offering gives one free share of Pershing Square Inc. for every five shares of Pershing Square USA purchased. The two will trade separately under their own tickers. The IPO includes a private placement that has locked in $2.8 billion from family offices and pension funds.

The Pershing Square USA fund priced at $50 per share. It debuted on the New York Stock Exchange on Wednesday.

For Ackman, the fund debut and Howard Hughes purchase continues his Wall Street transformation.

In May 2025, Pershing Square Inc announced a $900 million deal to purchase a 47% stake in real estate developer Howard Hughes Holdings (HHH). The investment will expand Howard Hughes’ portfolio to include stakes in public and private companies while continuing its real estate business.

“And our plan is to build a diversified holding company akin to what Mr. Buffett has done over time with Berkshire Hathaway,” Ackman said of Howard Hughes.

“One of his earliest initiatives was to acquire an insurance company, and that was really the beginning of a very important story in the capital markets. In December, we announced an agreement to acquire Vantage Holdings … [it’s] a specialty insurer and reinsurer. Pershing Square is going to manage the assets of Vantage for no incremental cost, which means that Vantage will have a competitive advantage in the way its assets are managed,” Ackman explained as one reason why investors should be attracted to the IPO.

Ackman has evolved from a traditional activist investor into one of the most influential and vocal figures in American public life. As of early 2026, his stock portfolio continues to reflect a “bet on the American consumer,” with significant holdings in Restaurant Brands and Hilton Worldwide (HLT) and wagers on tech in Alphabet (GOOGL) and Meta (META).

Politically, Ackman — once a lifelong Democrat — has completed a high-profile shift to the right, becoming a staunch supporter of President Trump. This transition, which solidified during the 2024 election cycle, is rooted in his vocal opposition to DEI initiatives in academia and his belief that Trump’s deregulation and “America First” economic policies are essential for national competitiveness.

As for those aforementioned tech stocks, he is staying bullish despite the WSJ’s Tuesday story that OpenAI has missed certain financial targets. The report pressured shares of its partners like Oracle (ORCL).