Key Takeaways
- • Bill Ackman, billionaire investor and Pershing Square founder, posted on X on Sunday, October 18, 2026, a list titled "How to destroy a country," citing wealth taxes on unrealized gains as a key threat.
- • Ackman named the "introduction or threat of a wealth tax including the taxation of unrealized gains, i.e., taxes on paper wealth" and the flight of productive business builders and high taxpayers to lower-tax countries.
- • Ackman linked government fraud, waste and abuse, growing borrowing, and higher sovereign interest rates to the need for expenditure cuts.
- • Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management, warned that U.S. federal debt above $40 trillion could cost hundreds of billions in extra interest.
- • The post is a political and economic commentary piece from a public social media post, not a market event or fund action.
Summary
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman outlined a list of policies he said could "destroy a country" in a post on X on Sunday, October 18, 2026, according to Benzinga, which published the coverage via TradingView. The post opened with the premise that "incentives drive all human behavior" and listed items spanning tax policy, government spending, borrowing costs, immigration and social issues.
On taxation, Ackman cited "the introduction or threat of a wealth tax including the taxation of unrealized gains, i.e., taxes on paper wealth," and the flight of "the most productive business builders and highest taxpayers to lower tax countries." The article notes that Ackman had earlier criticized a proposal from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), made in August, that would let illiquid startup founders pledge shares for a government loan to pay taxes. Ackman warned that such a plan could leave failed founders insolvent and facing lifelong wage garnishment. Billionaire Mark Cuban called that plan "insane."
On fiscal policy, Ackman wrote that "government fraud, waste, and abuse contributed to ballooning budgets" and described a government "managed by a massive and growing unelected bureaucracy." He tied increased state borrowing to "higher sovereign interest rates" and "the resulting need to reduce expenditures to make the math work." The article places this in the context of rising borrowing costs, citing Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management, who warned that U.S. policy could cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars in extra interest with federal debt above $40 trillion. Gerber said the U.S. "can't afford a 5% Treasury bond for long without creating a debt spiral." The article also notes Ackman's August 2025 criticism of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spending, which he called "Absurd."
The list also included an "open immigration policy that does not screen immigrants," "the declining fertility of the most educated and productive women," "the continued failure to punish and hold accountable violent and looting rioters," and "the rapid rise in anti-semitism." The post is a commentary on policy rather than a reported transaction or regulatory action, and the article does not indicate any specific market or fund consequences.
On taxation, Ackman cited "the introduction or threat of a wealth tax including the taxation of unrealized gains, i.e., taxes on paper wealth," and the flight of "the most productive business builders and highest taxpayers to lower tax countries." The article notes that Ackman had earlier criticized a proposal from Rep. Ro Khanna (D-Calif.), made in August, that would let illiquid startup founders pledge shares for a government loan to pay taxes. Ackman warned that such a plan could leave failed founders insolvent and facing lifelong wage garnishment. Billionaire Mark Cuban called that plan "insane."
On fiscal policy, Ackman wrote that "government fraud, waste, and abuse contributed to ballooning budgets" and described a government "managed by a massive and growing unelected bureaucracy." He tied increased state borrowing to "higher sovereign interest rates" and "the resulting need to reduce expenditures to make the math work." The article places this in the context of rising borrowing costs, citing Ross Gerber, CEO of Gerber Kawasaki Wealth Management, who warned that U.S. policy could cost the country hundreds of billions of dollars in extra interest with federal debt above $40 trillion. Gerber said the U.S. "can't afford a 5% Treasury bond for long without creating a debt spiral." The article also notes Ackman's August 2025 criticism of Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program spending, which he called "Absurd."
The list also included an "open immigration policy that does not screen immigrants," "the declining fertility of the most educated and productive women," "the continued failure to punish and hold accountable violent and looting rioters," and "the rapid rise in anti-semitism." The post is a commentary on policy rather than a reported transaction or regulatory action, and the article does not indicate any specific market or fund consequences.
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