#413 – Bill Ackman: Investing, Financial Battles, Harvard, DEI, X & Free Speech

Artificial Intelligence Podcast

Key Takeaways  “The best businesses are forever assets.” – Bill Ackman It is optimal to invest in businesses that have a low probability of getting disrupted Price is what you pay; value is what you get  In investing, you can do very well if you avoid losing money and have a few great hits Price matters: You can buy the best business in the world, but you will not earn a particularly attractive return if you overpay for it It is best to invest in growing businesses that are easy to understand and that will generate cash over the long term Progress compounds in a similar way that money compoundsNever invest money that you cannot afford to lose “Harvard has become a place where free speech is not tolerated on campus, or at least free speech that’s not part of the accepted dialogue.” – Bill Ackman  Lowercase diversity, equity, and inclusion are good; it is the uppercase“DEI” ideology that is problematic The only person who can cause you more harm than a thief with a dagger is a journalist with a pen The current problem in politics is that the party system is not working properly; the parties are self-interested and are not incentivized to do what is best for the country Technology will save us; we must return to a meritocratic world 

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Bill Ackman is an investor who has led some of the biggest and controversial financial trades in history. He is founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management. Please support this podcast by checking out our sponsors:

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Transcript: https://lexfridman.com/bill-ackman-transcript

EPISODE LINKS:

Bill's X: https://twitter.com/BillAckman

Pershing Square Holdings: https://pershingsquareholdings.com/

Pershing Square Foundation: https://pershingsquarefoundation.org

Neri Oxman conversation: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XbPHojL_61U

Books mentioned:

The Intelligent Investor: https://amzn.to/3ONnaZy

America's Cultural Revolution: https://amzn.to/3SDz1dY

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OUTLINE:

Here's the timestamps for the episode. On some podcast players you should be able to click the timestamp to jump to that time.

(00:00) - Introduction

(08:55) - Investing basics

(13:47) - Investing in music

(22:08) - Process of researching companies

(26:47) - Investing in restaurants

(32:16) - Investing in Google

(37:58) - AI

(43:13) - Warren Buffet

(45:22) - Psychology of investing

(54:53) - Activist investing

(1:04:41) - General Growth Properties

(1:20:57) - Canadian Pacific Railway

(1:28:21) - OpenAI

(1:32:32) - Biggest loss and lowest point

(1:47:21) - Herbalife and Carl Icahn

(2:04:11) - Oct 7

(2:10:42) - College campus protests

(2:29:09) - DEI in universities

(2:50:00) - Neri Oxman

(3:15:30) - X and free speech

(3:19:54) - Trump

(3:27:30) - Dean Phillips

(3:34:36) - Future