American hedge fund manager Bill Ackman on investment in TLV Stock Exchange: 'probably the best investment I’ve ever made'

Hedge fund manager and billionaire Bill Ackman said on Tuesday that his investment in the Tel Aviv (TLV) Stock Exchange was “probably the best investment I’ve ever made,” and that he planned to make more private investments in Israel in the future.

Calcalist Tech reported that Ackman and his wife “purchased about 5% of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange in 2024 at roughly 20.6 shekels per share, for a total investment of about $25 million.”

“The stock is now trading at approximately 78.4 shekels, an impressive return of around 280% in less than two years, yielding a profit of 260 million shekels ($70 million),” the report stated.

Ackman, a Jewish American who is married to Israeli-born Neri Oxman, said that financial gain was not the motivation of the investment.

“After [Oct. 7th], my wife and I were looking for a way to help, and everything was philanthropy,” he said at conference in Israel. “And I always say that philanthropy is great, but capital is better. The stock exchange is too small an investment for me, but I wanted to do it out of support for Israel. We’ll never sell, and I want to participate in the future of Israel.”

While Ackman mentioned the relatively small size of the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, he offered high praise for the Israeli tech sector.

He even predicted that “we will see a trillion-dollar company coming out of Israel.”

The founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, Ackman is estimated to have a net worth of about $9.2 billion.

Though historically a supporter of the Democratic Party, he has backed U.S. President Donald Trump due in large part to his support for Israel.