I think that's not exactly wrong, to refer to "a few monster hits", but you didn't mention his single best investment, which overshadows all others. General Growth Properties turned a few million into almost $2 billion.
My impression is that Ackman is simply a gambler who got really lucky once and that has allowed him to raise money and squander it on a scale that compensates for his successes.
Certain famous investors have talked about how it's not so hard to run across some big winners over time; what's really hard is to avoid big mistakes.
There's something particularly perverse about calling a fund that owns a small number of risky stocks a "hedge fund", I might add.
My impression is that Ackman is simply a gambler who got really lucky once and that has allowed him to raise money and squander it on a scale that compensates for his successes.
Certain famous investors have talked about how it's not so hard to run across some big winners over time; what's really hard is to avoid big mistakes.
There's something particularly perverse about calling a fund that owns a small number of risky stocks a "hedge fund", I might add.