{"id":5166,"date":"2026-08-12T09:10:04","date_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:10:04","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166"},"modified":"2026-08-12T09:10:04","modified_gmt":"2026-08-12T09:10:04","slug":"how-a-book-that-inspired-warren-buffett-and-a-14000-side-hustle-helped-billionaire-bill-ackman-get-started-as-an-investor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166","title":{"rendered":"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n

\u201cOne early formative experience was at Harvard, where I took a job at Harvard Student Agencies selling advertising for the Let\u2019s Go<\/em> travel guides\u2014a series of books where Harvard students wrote reviews of hotels around the world,\u201d Ackman recently told editor-in-chief Alyson Shontell during Fortune<\/em> podcast Titans and Disruptors of Industry<\/em>.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Trump\u2019s media and crypto firm just posted a $238 million quarterly loss\u2014here\u2019s where those losses came from<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cIt was a commission-based business, and I turned out to be a good salesman,\u201d he continued. In fact, he was so good at the job that the student agency was afraid he would outearn his superiors. \u201cI made $14,000, which felt like a huge amount of money.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

As a teenager, Ackman told his dad that he\u2019d be a millionaire by 30, have $100 million by 40, and be a billionaire by 50. And that commission check was his first taste of business success.<\/p>\n

Then, after graduating, he returned home to work for his father, who cofounded and ran New York\u2013based commercial real estate firm Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group. Ackman wasn\u2019t too thrilled about the job, but it pointed him toward the career he wanted to build. \u201cI found the entrepreneurs and developers on the other side of the phone more interesting, and I decided I wanted to be an investor,\u201d he said. And his father\u2014an entrepreneurial success in his own right\u2014led him further down the investing rabbit hole. \u201cMy dad introduced me to a man named Leonard Marks, who recommended The Intelligent Investor<\/em> by Ben Graham.\u201d Graham is known as the \u201cFather of Value Investing\u201d and profoundly influenced the young Warren Buffett\u2019s investing style, which Ackman came to greatly admire.<\/p>\n

Ackman completed his MBA at Harvard Business School in 1992, and that same year cofounded his first investment firm, Gotham Partners, with fellow Harvard graduate David Berkowitz.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\u201cI went to business school to learn how to be an investor and just followed that path\u2014fortunate to find something I was excited about,\u201d Ackman added.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Now, Bill Ackman\u2019s Pershing Square Capital Management is a $35 billion titan\u00a0<\/h2>\n

In 2004, after winding down his Gotham Partners venture, Ackman founded New York\u2013based investment firm Pershing Square Capital Management.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Over more than two decades under his leadership as CEO, the company has grown to become a $35 billion titan of industry.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Read more Trump administration invokes birthright citizenship Supreme Court case in appeal to block wide tariff refunds<\/a><\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

Its long-term returns have crushed the market. Those who stayed in since inception have seen their investments compound nearly 16.5% annually for two decades, compared to a 10% return on the S&P 500 over the same period. However, in 2026, the company has recently been underperforming, with Pershing Square Holdings down 11% year to date this February compared to the S&P 500\u2019s roughly 1% gain. Still, in April, Pershing Square raised $5 billion in the largest closed-end fund listing in U.S. history through its combined IPO.<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The 60-year-old hedge fund mogul has also grown his own net worth to $11.5 billion, and his influence has grown commensurately.\u00a0<\/p>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

A well-timed 2020 bet on corporate credit markets during the COVID-19 crash reportedly turned $27 million into $2.6 billion in a matter of weeks. His 2016 bet on Chipotle also paid off handsomely, with Pershing Square nearly doubling its original $1.2 billion investment within a few years, and later selling off its stake. And around a decade ago, his activist campaign at Canadian Pacific Railway became one of the most celebrated turnarounds in modern investing.\u00a0<\/p>\n

Ackman is a \u2018Warren Buffett devotee\u2019 looking to emulate his success<\/h2>\n

Ackman is still a self-proclaimed \u201cWarren Buffett devotee\u201d who has looked up to the legendary investor as an \u201cunofficial mentor.\u201d<\/p>\n

In March, he sought to replicate Buffett\u2019s success with Berkshire Hathaway by taking Pershing Square Capital Management\u00a0public and gaining access to \u201cpermanent capital.\u201d\u00a0To entice investors, every 100 shares of the closed-end fund they buy will automatically earn them 20 free shares of Pershing Square.<\/p>\n

Ackman explained that about 98% of Pershing Square\u2019s capital is invested in public companies, where it is often one of the largest shareholders. These vehicles invest primarily in public companies, where Pershing Square is often one of the largest active shareholders. Because investors can sell their shares to other investors rather than redeeming directly from the funds, the vehicles can generally retain their capital and investments. This is similar to Berkshire Hathaway\u2019s permanent-capital structure.<\/p>\n

\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\u201cThat gives us what Mr. Buffett would call permanent capital,\u201d Ackman explained during the podcast. \u201cBerkshire is a corporation. When people want their money out, they sell Berkshire shares, but the capital stays in the enterprise, and Buffett has done a remarkable job investing it over time.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more Iran wants a mafia-style \u2018protection\u2019 toll on the Strait of Hormuz, but the eye-popping $20 billion per year haul is a pipe dream<\/a><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman says he was inspired to become an investor after working at his dad\u2019s real estate company.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5165,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[286],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5166","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-fortune-500-titans-and-disruptors-of-industry"],"yoast_head":"\nHow a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor - Cross Country Moving Team<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor - Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman says he was inspired to become an investor after working at his dad\u2019s real estate company.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Cross Country Moving Team\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-12T09:10:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"headline\":\"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-12T09:10:04+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166\"},\"wordCount\":823,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/928b246c0d851ab0c78a0ae63b727360.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Fortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166\",\"name\":\"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor - Cross Country Moving Team\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/928b246c0d851ab0c78a0ae63b727360.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-12T09:10:04+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/928b246c0d851ab0c78a0ae63b727360.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/928b246c0d851ab0c78a0ae63b727360.webp\",\"width\":1200,\"height\":600},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?p=5166#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Cross Country Moving Team\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor - Cross Country Moving Team","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor - Cross Country Moving Team","og_description":"The Pershing Square Capital Management CEO Bill Ackman says he was inspired to become an investor after working at his dad\u2019s real estate company.","og_url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166","og_site_name":"Cross Country Moving Team","article_published_time":"2026-08-12T09:10:04+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"4 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"headline":"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor","datePublished":"2026-08-12T09:10:04+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166"},"wordCount":823,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/928b246c0d851ab0c78a0ae63b727360.webp","articleSection":["Fortune 500: Titans and Disruptors of Industry"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166","name":"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor - Cross Country Moving Team","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/928b246c0d851ab0c78a0ae63b727360.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-12T09:10:04+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/928b246c0d851ab0c78a0ae63b727360.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/928b246c0d851ab0c78a0ae63b727360.webp","width":1200,"height":600},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?p=5166#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How a book that inspired Warren Buffett and a $14,000 side hustle helped billionaire Bill Ackman get started as an investor"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/","name":"Cross Country Moving Team","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/#\/schema\/person\/1b8121bfb9a1c55d1fff3fca675fceaa","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com"],"url":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5166","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5166"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5166\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5165"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5166"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5166"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/crosscountrymovingteams.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5166"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}