Some of the world’s richest people publicly congratulated Joe Biden’s historic presidential victory over the weekend, even though billionaire Donald Trump hasn’t yet admitted defeat.



One billionaire—hedge fund cowboy Bill Ackman, whose&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/william-ackman/?sh=3e214709298d">net worth</a>&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates at $2 billion—directly advised Trump to concede in a&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/billackman/status/1325225698248839168?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweet</a>. “There comes a time in the battle when one should fold the tent. Instead focus on your accomplishments over the last four years,” Ackman wrote Saturday. “Concede graciously and call for unity from all who have supported you.”



Other billionaires congratulated Biden on his win, including Microsoft cofounder and philanthropist Bill Gates. “I look forward to working with the new administration and leaders on both sides in Congress on getting the surging pandemic under control,” Gates&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/BillGates/status/1325138315964682246?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;shortly after Biden was projected as the winner by the Associated Press on Saturday.&nbsp;



It’s a notable reaction from the third richest person in the world. As the coronavirus pandemic took hold, Gates, who’s currently worth $118 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.gatesfoundation.org/Media-Center/Press-Releases/2020/04/Gates-Foundation-Expands-Commitment-to-COVID-19-Response-Calls-for-International-Collaboration" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">pledged</a>&nbsp;$300 million from his charitable foundation for vaccine development and other efforts. He’s also criticized the U.S. response to date,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/mattperez/2020/09/20/bill-gates-us-needs-to-own-up-to-the-fact-that-we-didnt-do-a-good-job/?sh=12a76b653fb8">telling</a>&nbsp;Fox News in September that “we did a very poor job” and need to &#8220;own up to the fact.”



The world’s richest person, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also chimed in on Instagram. “Unity, empathy, and decency are not characteristics of a bygone era,” the ecommerce executive, who we estimate is&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jeff-bezos/?sh=451ac1ea1b23">worth</a>&nbsp;$190 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.instagram.com/p/CHTZ-TyHqjN/?igshid=11uu42usw74ba" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">wrote</a>&nbsp;as the caption to a photo of Biden and Harris high-fiving.



A few of Biden’s billionaire donors also cheered his win. Philanthropist Laurene Powell Jobs, whose net worth Forbes estimates at nearly $20 billion, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2020/10/19/at-least-67-billionaires-made-six-figure-donations-to-committees-supporting-joe-biden-in-last-3-months/?sh=5e3944951bd2">donated</a> $100,000 to his campaign. She celebrated Harris’ historic ascendency as the first woman and first Black American and Asian American person to become vice president in a Saturday tweet, describing the achievement as a “glass ceiling shattered once and for all.”



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">We celebrate our democracy, our common humanity, and a glass ceiling shattered once and for all. <a href="https://t.co/IhvGLBcALd">pic.twitter.com/IhvGLBcALd</a>&mdash; Laurene Powell Jobs (@laurenepowell) <a href="https://twitter.com/laurenepowell/status/1325124457262850052?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">November 7, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Former venture capitalist-turned-media personality&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/chris-sacca/?sh=37a2ca44220a">Chris Sacca</a>, who with his wife Crystal Sacca donated $420,000 of their estimated $1.1 billion fortune to Biden, also applauded the election’s outcome. “Joe and Kamala bring science, innovation and an understanding of the climate opportunity back to the White House,”&nbsp; Sacca&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/sacca/status/1325226113119891456?s=21" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;Saturday, saying he gave that statement to a news organization owned by conservative media tycoon (and longtime Trump friend) Rupert Murdoch, but the news organization told Sacca they weren’t going to publish it. “I couldn’t be more bullish” about what Biden’s administration means for investors, he added.&nbsp;



“I want to congratulate @JoeBiden and @KamalaHarris on a historic win,” Illinois governor and billionaire J.B. Pritzker&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/GovPritzker/status/1325113433487003657?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>, adding that he’s looking forward to working with their administration.&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;previously reported that Pritzker and his wife&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2020/10/19/at-least-67-billionaires-made-six-figure-donations-to-committees-supporting-joe-biden-in-last-3-months/?sh=5e3944951bd2">donated</a>&nbsp;$1.4 million to Biden’s campaign, and that his&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/jb-pritzker/?sh=b22443b38146">net worth</a>&nbsp;is estimated around $3.5 billion.&nbsp;&nbsp;



Entertainment billionaires Oprah Winfrey and&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/maddieberg/2020/09/01/from-poor-as-hell-to-billionaire-how-tyler-perry-changed-show-business-forever/?sh=6a25b7e234b5">Tyler Perry</a>&nbsp;also weighed in. Winfrey, who we&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/oprah-winfrey/?sh=8e46c155745f">estimate</a>&nbsp;is worth $2.6 billion, hailed Biden’s win as a “reset” for the “soul of America.” Perry, who&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;estimates to be&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/tyler-perry/?sh=5707ea8e13dd">worth</a>&nbsp;$1 billion,&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/tylerperry/status/1325165060008783880?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">tweeted</a>&nbsp;Saturday that “change is here,” adding, “I’m sitting here in tears!”



Trump wasn’t the only billionaire running in 2020. Climate change activist Tom Steyer and former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg also ran against Biden for the Democratic nomination. After dropping out, Steyer and his wife&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/michelatindera/2020/10/19/at-least-67-billionaires-made-six-figure-donations-to-committees-supporting-joe-biden-in-last-3-months/?sh=5e3944951bd2">donated</a>&nbsp;$640,000 to Biden from their $1.4 billion&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/thomas-steyer/?sh=396bdad073f5">fortune</a>, while Bloomberg—who spent $1 billion on his own campaign—gave&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/denizcam/2020/10/31/the-top-5-richest-backers-of-joe-biden/?sh=126cecfa6413">$15 million</a>&nbsp;of his nearly&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/michael-bloomberg/?sh=15ef5ad61417">$55 billion</a>&nbsp;fortune to various progressive organizations. Both men&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/TomSteyer/status/1325114359832473600?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">congratulated</a>&nbsp;<a href="https://twitter.com/MikeBloomberg/status/1325118275441881088?s=20" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Biden</a>&nbsp;on his win.



Virgin founder Richard Branson, who is British (and who we estimate is <a href="https://www.forbes.com/profile/richard-branson/?sh=1a93afbd6ff5">worth</a> $4.6 billion) offered international best wishes to Biden as president-elect. “Now is the time to bring America together as a United States and start the healing,” Branson <a rel="noreferrer noopener" href="https://twitter.com/richardbranson/status/1325163037607694338?s=20" target="_blank">tweeted</a>. “The world will be rooting for that.”



By Lisette Voytko, Forbes Staff

US-ECONOMICS-GATES

Here’s How Bill Gates And Other Billionaires Are Reacting To Biden’s Election Victory

It’s been a busy year for Bill Ackman of hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management. Ackman spotted the risks from the coronavirus pandemic early, building a massive credit hedge in January and February that&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2020/03/25/billionaire-bill-ackman-100-fold-return-on-coronavirus-hedge-2-billion/#4be334c56fcc">protected his hedge fund</a>&nbsp;from the market plunge. Then, he doubled down near the market lows and is up 30%-plus for the year, compounding Pershing Square’s 58% gain in 2019. Now, the hedge fund billionaire is looking for his next signature deal.



Ackman is planning to raise up to $1 billion using a publicly traded blank-check company, which will then be used to buy a stake in a business and bring it to public stock markets. The brewing deal,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-pershingsquare-investment-exclusive/exclusive-pershing-squares-ackman-eyes-1-billion-plus-blank-check-company-sources-idUSKBN23I1ZD" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">first reported by Reuters</a>, would give Ackman the opportunity to make a major new investment. (Pershing Square declined to comment.)



This year, Pershing Square used the March market plunge to rebuild a position in Starbucks and add significantly to holdings like Lowe’s, Howard Hughes and Restaurant Brands. Pershing Square also build a stake in private equity giant Blackstone Group, first <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2020/03/18/the-billionaire-interview-that-tanked-the-stock-market/">reported</a> by Forbes, but then sold quickly, he recently told investors. Typically, when Pershing Square scales a new investment it commits between $500 million and $1 billion to the idea, or about a 5%-to-10% weight.



Blank check companies have become popular in recent years as a way to take private equity and venture capital backed companies public. Notable recent deals include the listings of DraftKings, Virgin Galactic and most recently, hydrogen truck unicorn Nikola Motor Company. These vehicles have attracted big names on Wall Street,&nbsp;<a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2019/12/10/david-cote-goldman-sachs-leveraged-buyout-vertiv/#12339c7ab058">from Goldman Sachs</a>&nbsp;to Barry Sternlicht’s Starwood Capital and Chamath Palihapitiya of Social Capital and Ackman is no stranger to these deals.



Pershing Square notably formed a blank check company called Justice Holdings and in 2012 bought a large stake in Burger King, taking the restaurant public. The deal, in partnership with private equity giant 3G capital, turned into a massive windfall for Ackman and Pershing Square. Ackman personally owns about $250 million in shares of Burger King’s parent company and it’s been one of Pershing Square’s more successful investments. Pershing Square also invested in Nomad Foods and Platform Specialty Products, which were blank check companies, but didn’t turn out as successful.



The prospective new deal is one to watch.



Private equity firms are sitting on massive portfolios of businesses that may need new capital to manage through the pandemic, and may find appeal in quickly tapping public stock markets. Moreover, Pershing Square’s current portfolio is indexed heavily to restaurants, retailers and hoteliers, but Ackman’s done much less investing in some of the hotter corners of the stock market, like information technology and software. Pershing Square recently built a large position in healthcare software provider Agilent, and Ackman’s long been a fan of Ceridian, a maker of software for payroll.



Ackman’s Pershing Square is enjoying a renaissance after the firm battled through a $4 billion-plus loss on controversial Valeant Pharmaceuticals. The firm refocused on its areas of specialty, succeeding on investments like Nike, Starbucks, Hilton and Chipotle and has seen a major payoff. Last year was the best on record for Pershing Square and his fund is significantly outperforming peers and broader stock markets in 2020. Assets firmwide recently eclipsed $10 billion, about half of their peak, with most housed in a publicly traded permanent capital vehicle called Pershing Square Holdings.



Now, Ackman is raising new capital to hunt for new deals in markets ripe with opportunity.



&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/">Antoine Gara</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/banking-insurance">Banking &amp; Insurance</a>

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Billionaire Bill Ackman Plots His Next Deal

Bill Ackman panicked about the coronavirus early on.



The billionaire investor had a nightmare about COVID-19 in late January, which might as well have been the plot of the pandemic thriller&nbsp;Contagion. When he woke up, he started prepping.



He began arranging for his firm’s fifty employees to abandon their midtown Manhattan offices. He put on doomsday hedges. And then he pulled an enormous amount of cash from an ATM. By the time the Dow Jones Industrial Average was plunging seemingly a thousand points a day, Ackman’s $5.6 billion firm was making money amid the chaos.



So when he woke on Wednesday morning, Ackman didn’t have a pleasant message for America. He took to Twitter to recommend <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/2020/03/18/hedge-fund-billionaire-bill-ackman-calls-for-30-day-shutdown-of-country-closing-of-borders-to-curb-covid-19-spread/#4d6686425571">a shutdown of the country</a>.



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Mr. President, the only answer is to shut down the country for the next 30 days and close the borders. Tell all Americans that you are putting us on an extended Spring Break at home with family. Keep only essential services open. The government pays wages until we reopen.&mdash; Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1240244507246919681?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Then he called into&nbsp;CNBC&nbsp;around noontime to elaborate. And it was bad.



“Hell is coming,” said Ackman, in a frenzied 28-minute interview. “Shut it down now,” he said of the economy, “There is a tsunami coming.”



Ackman recommended President Trump effectively close the country for 30 days and shut the borders to stop the spread of the coronavirus. Yes, it would mean an economic disaster, so Ackman recommended that Trump call a national ‘Spring Break’ and have the government pay wages, halt foreclosures, and help with other monthly bills like rent to tide people over.



This way Americans will stay at home and the virus will stop spreading.



If not, Ackman warned in an emotional interview that verged on panic, the country will experience a prolonged pandemic, which will put many industries ranging from hotels, to restaurants, to real estate out of business.



“What’s scaring the American people and corporate America now is the gradual roll-out,” said Ackman, of containment and distancing measures. “Capitalism does not work in an 18-month shutdown, capitalism can work in a 30-day shutdown.”



The hedge fund manager, turned amateur health expert, said the contagiousness of the virus may mean millions will die without drastic measures. He choked up when talking about the risks of the disease to his elderly father, and revealed that some of his employees may have the virus.



“The only shared sacrifice that is going on right now is the healthcare community, the nurses, the doctors, the people taking care of patients,” said Ackman. “The president is not saying storm the beaches of Normandy,” he said, hypothetically, of his 30-day shutdown proposal. “He’s saying go home, spend a month with your family.”



When Ackman turned to his portfolio and the rest of Wall Street, his warnings were dire.



“Hilton is the canary in the coal mine,” said Ackman of the hotelier, which is one of his larger holdings. Without quicker action, “it’s going to zero along with every other hotel company,” he predicted. Though, he did say his Pershing Square was buying shares of Hilton as markets plunged on Wednesday morning.



“I have enormous respect for KKR and Blackstone,” Ackman added of the two illustrious private equity firms, before predicting their leveraged deals would be toast if there isn’t a quick solution within the next 18-months. “[E]very one of their companies goes bankrupt,” he said.



After the interview,&nbsp;Forbes&nbsp;has learned Ackman called Blackstone and said he’s buying the firm’s shares.



His ideas were boundless: He recommended Elon Musk convert Tesla’s car-making factories into ventilator-making factories.



As he spoke, the market plunged, tick-by-tick.



The Dow Jones Industrial Average was down over 1,000 points when he went on air. It hit a circuit breaker as he spouted dark doom and gloom, then closed for 15 minutes. When it reopened, it was down 2,000-plus.



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Ackman just halted the market.&mdash; Nathan Michaud (@InvestorsLive) <a href="https://twitter.com/InvestorsLive/status/1240321527024844804?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Some on Twitter took Ackman’s dire warnings as necessary.



His “shut it down now” idea, increasingly, is becoming the pandemic playbook for cities either implementing or considering “shelter-in-place” laws. And, in recent days and weeks, health experts have responded positively to market-tanking warnings by public officials about the virus.



Many commended President Trump for talking about the gravity of the pandemic earlier in March, even though it was the catalyst for a sudden market drop. Before Ackman went on air, Dr. Deborah Birx, the head of the White House Coronavirus Task Force, said many people, particularly young people, are not taking the pandemic seriously enough. Her message to millennials? You can die from this.



However, others saw a panicked billionaire investor talking down the market and inciting fear.



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Please get Ackman off CNBC before people start jumping off bridges. <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBC?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CNBC</a>&mdash; Mike Novogratz (@novogratz) <a href="https://twitter.com/novogratz/status/1240321462621351936?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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Ackman then went back on Twitter to clarify his intentions. “These are the bargains of a lifetime if we manage this crisis correctly,” he said.



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Some investors have been confused by remarks. To clarify, I am confident the president will do the right thing in temporarily shutting down the country and closing the borders. If that happens, we can win the war against the virus and the markets and the economy will soar.&mdash; Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) <a href="https://twitter.com/BillAckman/status/1240351178933895169?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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 You can watch Ackman’s CNBC interview in full here. (Pershing Square declined to comment further.)



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<blockquote class="twitter-tweet" data-width="500" data-dnt="true">Watch the full interview with Bill Ackman on the coronavirus threat to economy — &#39;Shut it down now&#39; <a href="https://t.co/nSDK8lwKec">https://t.co/nSDK8lwKec</a>&mdash; CNBC (@CNBC) <a href="https://twitter.com/CNBC/status/1240339659709915138?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 18, 2020</a></blockquote><script async src="https://platform.twitter.com/widgets.js" charset="utf-8"></script>
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&#8211; <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/antoinegara/">Antoine Gara</a>, Forbes Staff, <a href="https://www.forbes.com/banking-insurance">Banking &amp; Insurance</a>

Tag: Bill Ackman

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