BILL ACKMAN: Here's my 'most bullish argument for Trump'
Hedge fund manager billionaire Bill Ackman, the CEO of Pershing Square Capital, opened up about his morning after Election Day.
“I woke up extremely bullish on Trump. My thinking is as follows — the United States is the greatest business in the world and it’s been under-managed for a long time. We now have a businessman as president and he has power because the Republicans control Congress and the Senate,” Ackman said at the DealBook Conference.
He continued: “He’s going to get a lot done. And nothing has gotten done in a really long period of time…I think that’s extremely bullish for growth in the United States.”
As president-elect Donald Trump’s victory unfolded on Tuesday evening, global markets went haywire, with S&P futures dropping 5%. Gold, considered a safe haven asset, soared. By the close on Wednesday, markets had erased losses and have continued to rally.
Ackman, an activist investor known for taking large positions in a handful of companies and pushing for change, did not trade based on the election results.
At first he was concerned about volatility, but that all changed when he woke up on Wednesday morning.
“This guy just became president of the United States. This is going to be his legacy. Does he want to screw this up? No. ”
Ackman also believes that Trump will “attract the best and the brightest” to his administration. He also going to invest in infrastructure spending and reduce regulation, which is also bullish.
A year ago, Ackman tried to get former New York City Mayor Mike Bloomberg to run for president. He even published an op-ed calling on him to run.
“I’ve said for years we should have a business person run for the country.”
Ackman met Trump nearly 20 years ago when he was trying to get a real estate deal done. He added that he knows Ivanka Trump a lot better and is a big fan of her.
“My most bullish argument for Trump is it’s hard to produce children of that quality and that speaks to him.”
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Julia La Roche is a finance reporter at Yahoo Finance.
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