Key Takeaways
- • Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square with a personal fortune estimated at about $12 billion, praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership since October 7 but said Finance Minister Bezalel Smotrich and National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir are doing serious damage to Israel's reputation, per an interview with ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth's Mammon supplement.
- • Ackman urged Netanyahu to exclude Smotrich and Ben-Gvir from his next coalition and form a moderate centrist government after Israel's elections.
- • Ackman disclosed plans to make significant investments in Israeli high-tech startups, marking his first direct investment in Israeli tech companies.
- • Ackman dismissed fears of an AI bubble, forecasting a productivity-driven boom, and said a 5% government bond yield is "perfectly normal" given U.S. economic expansion.
- • Ackman predicted an enormous peace dividend for Israel once joint U.S.-Israeli work against Iran concludes, and said Saudi Arabia is next in line for normalization.
Summary
In an exclusive interview with ynet and Yedioth Ahronoth's Mammon financial supplement, Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of Pershing Square, praised Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's leadership since the October 7 Hamas attack but said his ministers Bezalel Smotrich and Itamar Ben-Gvir are doing "serious damage to Israel and its reputation." Ackman, whose personal fortune is estimated at about $12 billion, visited Israel briefly last week, reportedly to accompany his Israeli wife, Neri Oxman, who wanted to vote in the upcoming elections. He urged Netanyahu not to include either minister in his next coalition, arguing that their extreme statements are attributed to the entire government and harm its standing in international business circles. "Israel will thrive only under a centrist coalition," he said.
Ackman, one of the most vocal pro-Israel voices in the American business community, also described his position on U.S. campuses. He said he visited Harvard this month and found "major improvements in all the areas I had raised," adding that campus activism and anti-Israel demonstrations have declined significantly. He also cited unrest in France as a warning about socialist economic policies.
On markets, Ackman rejected concerns about an AI bubble, saying AI will not cause mass unemployment and that the technology will produce a boom, improved productivity and economic growth, with fluctuations expected along the way. Asked about elevated U.S. interest rates, he said a 5% government bond yield is "perfectly normal" given the current pace of American economic expansion. He cited new business openings in New York despite the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor, and described Europe's outlook as considerably darker due to excessive regulation.
During his visit, Ackman attended an AI and advanced medical technology conference organized by Sheba Medical Center, which recently announced an agreement with an American company involving ARC Global, its international healthcare innovation network operating across roughly 300 hospitals in about a dozen countries and investing in companies with a combined estimated valuation of $7 billion. Sheba Director General Prof. Yitshak Kreiss hopes the relationship could open new possibilities for families of people severely injured during the war. Ackman, whose daughter suffered a stroke, has a personal interest in AI applications for brain research.
Ackman disclosed that he plans to invest significant sums in Israeli startups, having not previously invested directly in Israeli high-tech companies. He said "Israel is one of the strongest and fastest-growing economies in the world, and it is on its way up." He also predicted that once the joint U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran is complete, Israel can expect an "enormous peace dividend," with Saudi Arabia next in line for normalization.
Ackman, one of the most vocal pro-Israel voices in the American business community, also described his position on U.S. campuses. He said he visited Harvard this month and found "major improvements in all the areas I had raised," adding that campus activism and anti-Israel demonstrations have declined significantly. He also cited unrest in France as a warning about socialist economic policies.
On markets, Ackman rejected concerns about an AI bubble, saying AI will not cause mass unemployment and that the technology will produce a boom, improved productivity and economic growth, with fluctuations expected along the way. Asked about elevated U.S. interest rates, he said a 5% government bond yield is "perfectly normal" given the current pace of American economic expansion. He cited new business openings in New York despite the election of Zohran Mamdani as mayor, and described Europe's outlook as considerably darker due to excessive regulation.
During his visit, Ackman attended an AI and advanced medical technology conference organized by Sheba Medical Center, which recently announced an agreement with an American company involving ARC Global, its international healthcare innovation network operating across roughly 300 hospitals in about a dozen countries and investing in companies with a combined estimated valuation of $7 billion. Sheba Director General Prof. Yitshak Kreiss hopes the relationship could open new possibilities for families of people severely injured during the war. Ackman, whose daughter suffered a stroke, has a personal interest in AI applications for brain research.
Ackman disclosed that he plans to invest significant sums in Israeli startups, having not previously invested directly in Israeli high-tech companies. He said "Israel is one of the strongest and fastest-growing economies in the world, and it is on its way up." He also predicted that once the joint U.S. and Israeli campaign against Iran is complete, Israel can expect an "enormous peace dividend," with Saudi Arabia next in line for normalization.
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