How Warren Buffett ‘Devotee’ Bill Ackman Is Pursuing a Favorite Strategy of Berkshire Hathaway

Ackman’s plan involves listing Pershing Square on the public markets–twice.

BY BRIAN CONTRERAS, STAFF WRITER @_B_CONTRERAS_

Bill Ackman. Illustration: Inc.; Photo: Getty Images

Bill Ackman, politically outspoken founder and CEO of the hedge fund Pershing Square Capital Management, cribbed a page from his self-described “unofficial mentor” Warren Buffett earlier this week with the announcement that he’s filed to get Pershing on the public markets—twice.

On Tuesday, Pershing Square USA—Ackman’s closed-end investment company—announced that it has filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission to go public under the ticker “PSUS.” At the same time, parent company Pershing Square Inc. filed to go public as well, this time under the “PS” ticker.

Every 100 PSUS shares that investors purchase will come with 20 PS shares, with Pershing looking to raise at least $5 billion through the IPO. (Pershing’s SEC filing refers to the pair as “a single offering,” though they will trade separately.)

The goal of this dual approach seems to in part be to capitalize on Ackman’s growing public stature, CNBC reports—Ackman has become a high-profile right-wing commentator on X—while also, it seems, echoing the path that Warren Buffett took with Berkshire Hathaway.

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Buffett, who recently stepped down as CEO of the famed conglomerate and investment vehicle, placed a high premium on “permanent capital” during his tenure there, Fortune reports—that is, money that can’t be pulled out at investors’ discretion, as with most hedge funds.

“Permanent capital—the kind Buffett perfected at Berkshire—has no expiration date, no forced exits, and no investors waiting for a check,” the outlet explained in a recent piece on Pershing’s plans to go public. “Think of it as the Buffett model: Raise capital once, hold forever, and let compounding do the rest.”

By listing Pershing on the stock market, Ackman is aiming to open up an untouchable stream of capital the same way Buffett did. Indeed, Ackman has previously called himself a “Warren Buffett devotee,” and described the Oracle of Omaha as his “unofficial mentor.”

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