Benzinga - by Piero Cingari, Benzinga Staff Writer.
Pershing Square Capital Management founder Bill Ackman earned a whopping $610 million in 2023, propelling him to No. 7 on Bloomberg's annual list of the highest-paid hedge fund founders.
This position marks his highest-ever ranking.
The investment team at Pershing Square, consisting of eight members, achieved a 26.7% gain last year on the heels of a very orthodox buy-and-hold strategy.
Ackman barely moved his portfolio over the last three quarters, choosing to focus on a few shares in large companies — Pershing’s portfolio comprises only eight stocks.
Ackman's portfolio slightly outpaced the S&P 500 Index, as tracked by the SPDR S&P 500 ETF Trust (NYSE:SPY). However, it fell short when compared to the more tech-oriented Nasdaq 100, which rallied 54%.
As of December 2023, Pershing Square’s portfolio was concentrated, with only eight stocks making up its composition. Remarkably, the top five holdings represented 80% of the total portfolio value, indicating a high level of conviction in these few bets.
The portfolio’s standout holdings include Chipotle Mexican Grill (NYSE:CMG), Restaurant Brands International Inc. (NYSE:QSR), and Hilton Worldwide Holdings Inc. (NYSE:HLT), with portfolio percentages of 18.25%, 17.6%, and 16.2% respectively. These companies have shown robust returns in 2023, with Chipotle leading at a 65% return, followed by Restaurant Brands at 58%, and Hilton at 44%.
| Company Name | % of Portfolio | % Return in 2023 |
| Chipotle Mexican Grill Inc. | 18.15% | 65% |
| Restaurant Brands Intl Inc. | 17.55% | 58% |
| Hilton Worldwide HIdgs | 16.08% | 44% |
| Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE:HHH) | 15.06% | 21% |
| Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ:GOOG) | 12.71% | 15% |
| Canadian Pacific Kansas City Ltd. (NYSE:CP) | 11.48% | 12% |
| Alphabet Inc Class A (NASDAQ:GOOGL) | 5.85% | 12% |
| Lowe’s Companies Inc (NYSE:LOW) | 2.67% | 6% |
Ackman’s Pershing Square touts significant gains primarily stemming from share-price increases in its publicly traded funds, alongside performance gains in private funds and fee income.
Other high-earning hedge fund managers on the list include Millennium's Izzy Englander and Citadel's Ken Griffin. Both individuals topped the Bloomberg list with earnings of $2.8 billion and $2.6 billion, respectively.
TCI Fund Management's Chris Hohn nearly reached the $1 billion mark in earnings with a portfolio of 10 U.S. stock holdings. Notably, two of these holdings — General Electric Co. (NYSE:GE) and Canadian National Railway (NYSE:CNI) — accounted for more than a quarter of his portfolio.
Hedge Fund ManagerFirmEarnings| Israel Englander | Millennium | $2.8B |
| Ken Griffin | Citadel | $2.6B |
| David Tepper | Appaloosa | $2.3B |
| Steve Cohen | Point72 | $1.6B |
| Jim Simons | Renaissance Technologies | $1.3B |
| Chris Hohn | TCI Fund Management | $970M |
| Bill Ackman | Pershing Square | $610M |
| Karthik Sarma | SRS Investment Management | $560M |
| David Shaw | D.E. Shaw | $540M |
| Paul Singer | Elliott Management | $390M |
| John Overdeck | Two Sigma | $320M |
| David Siegel | Two Sigma | $320M |
| Chris Rokos | Rokos Capital Management | $290M |
| Peter Brown | Renaissance Technologies | $210M |
| Cliff Asness | AQR Capital Management | $180M |
Now Read: Bill Ackman Breaks Wall Street Barriers, Launches Pershing Square Fund For Retail Investors
Image: Bill Ackman. Collage created using photo by Center For Jewish History, NYC on Wikimedia and engin akyurt on Unsplash
© 2024 Benzinga.com. Benzinga does not provide investment advice. All rights reserved.