Bill Ackman is no man’s conservative, that is for sure. But the billionaire activist investor is taking the “wrong” side on a politically heated issue anyway. Wrong based on his political affiliation is what we mean, although things shouldn’t be about politics when it comes to cases like this.
This one sadly has become such anyway though. Bill Ackman runs Pershing Square Capital Management. He is famous for a feud with another investor Carl Icahn, over a short position Ackman used to have in Herbalife stock.
We aren’t sure if he still has any short positions in that stock but after that feud Icahn went long the same stock and won that battle in the medium term, causing Ackman to lose tons of money.
Ackman is known as a rabid liberal activist as well. This is why many were shocked when he sided with Kyle Rittenhouse on Twitter the other day. He said that some journalists reached out asking if he was hacked because they were so shocked.
“Last night, Neri and I watched several hours of .#Kylerittenhouse direct testimony and cross examination. We came away believing that #Kyle is telling the truth and that he acted in self defense. We found him to be a civic-minded patriot with a history of helping his community as an EMT and fireman in training, in his removing hate graffiti earlier that day from a local school, and ultimately in volunteering to protect a business during the night of August 25th in Kenosha. Our first hand impressions of Kyle were materially different from those we had previously formed based on media reports and opinion pieces that we had consumed. I have always been frustrated to read an inaccurate press report about a subject I know well, yet somehow I continue to believe other articles in the same newspaper about subjects I know less well. Media and political bias are dividing our country and destroying lives. While we have not heard the entire trial, based on our assessment of Kyle on the stand, we believe that he will be found innocent by the jury. Often times, communities react negatively and even violently after a jury verdict where they are surprised by the outcome based on what they have previously read in the newspaper, seen on TV or more likely been served on social media. I encourage you to watch the trial, or at a minimum his testimony and cross examination, before you form a view of his guilt or innocence. With respect to my own political bias, I am not a gun owner, nor a member of the NRA. On balance, I support stronger gun regulations and removing loopholes in the sale of guns. Unfortunately it seems that society’s view of #kyle ‘s innocence depends more on one’s views about gun control rather than on what actually took place last August. Kyle Rittenhouse’s life is at risk. Justice demands a fair trial. Society would benefit greatly if politics did not enter the court room and convict innocent people. Just got a call from the media asking if my Twitter account was hacked. That is, the reporter couldn’t conceive of the idea that I could believe that Kyle is innocent because I am not a right winger. Crazy. “
Last night, Neri and I watched several hours of .#Kylerittenhouse direct testimony and cross examination. We came away believing that #Kyle is telling the truth and that he acted in self defense. We found him to be a civic-minded patriot with a history of
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
Our first hand impressions of Kyle were materially different from those we had previously formed based on media reports and opinion pieces that we had consumed. I have always been frustrated to read an inaccurate press report about a subject I know well, yet somehow I continue to
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
by the jury. Often times, communities react negatively and even violently after a jury verdict where they are surprised by the outcome based on what they have previously read in the newspaper, seen on TV or more likely been served on social media. I encourage you
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
removing loopholes in the sale of guns. Unfortunately it seems that society’s view of #kyle ‘s innocence depends more on one’s views about gun control rather than on what actually took place last August.
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
Just got a call from the media asking if my Twitter account was hacked. That is, the reporter couldn’t conceive of the idea that I could believe that Kyle is innocent because I am not a right winger. Crazy.
— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) November 11, 2021
Ultimately, time will tell, possibly tomorrow, how this case shakes out. It says a lot when even someone like Bill Ackman speaks out this way and especially in such great detail.
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