American billionaire Bill Ackman has pledged $400m to a newly established brain research centre following his daughter’s life-altering medical emergency.
Lucy Ackman suffered a stroke earlier this year that has left her unable to speak, see, or walk, prompting her father to take sweeping philanthropic action.
Ackman, whose Pershing Square hedge fund ranks among the most prominent investment management firms in the world, detailed the ordeal in a lengthy post on X to his 3 million followers.
He described how Lucy was discovered unconscious in her New York apartment, and that when emergency services arrived “they did not know what was wrong” with her.
Doctors eventually performed a brain scan that revealed a “massive” haemorrhage, which was later removed during a lengthy surgical procedure.
In response, Ackman and his wife Neri Oxman established the Ackman Oxman Institute, a Manhattan-based non-profit dedicated to brain research and patient recovery.
The institute aims to become “the world’s greatest brain research, rehabilitation, recovery, human optimisation and longevity institute,” according to Ackman.
Unlike traditional academic research centres, the AOI will focus on patient-related outcomes rather than papers and academic breakthroughs.
The institute will be housed in a 400,000 square foot building in Manhattan, part of which includes the repurposed studios currently hosting Saturday Night Live.
The donation will be made in the form of 10 million shares in Ackman’s New York-listed Pershing Square hedge fund, worth roughly $400m at Thursday’s closing price.
Ackman is estimated to be worth $8bn according to Bloomberg’s Billionaires Index, having built his reputation through high-profile and often controversial investment campaigns.
He first shot to global prominence with a $1bn short position against American weight-loss supplement maker Herbalife, branding the firm a pyramid scheme.
Ackman launched a vicious publicity campaign to convince regulators to open a formal investigation into Herbalife, though the drive was ultimately unsuccessful.
Despite that setback, the episode cemented Pershing Square’s status as one of the most recognisable investment shops on Wall Street.
In recent years, Ackman has become a vocal supporter of Donald Trump and was, alongside Elon Musk, one of the most outspoken backers of Trump from the world of business and finance.
The AOI will operate with what Ackman describes as “highly commercial instincts,” including a venture capital arm that will seed-fund and spin out treatments and medications it develops.
“The advance of AI in the last few years will also enable us to greatly accelerate our mission,” Ackman said, adding that “AI still has a lot to learn about human intelligence and the brain.”
He stated that the AOI “should be at the forefront of the interplay between the brain and AI,” underscoring the institute’s ambition to sit at the cutting edge of neuroscience.
The pledge represents one of the largest single philanthropic donations of the year, comparable in scale to other major charitable commitments made by the world’s wealthiest individuals.