Jewish hedge fund manager Bill Ackman has put nearly £300 million into neurological research after his daughter nearly died from a brain haemorrhage.
Ackman’s 26-year-old daughter Lucy was found unconscious by her sister at her home in Brooklyn in February. Doctors performed emergency surgery to save her and she has been recovering since.
Following the scare the multi-billionaire established the Ackman Oxman Institute, partly named after his wife Neri Oxman, to work on finding “cures, treatments, devices, rehabilitation and exercise equipment”, according to business news website Benzinga.
Around £300 million worth of shares in Ackman’s finance company Pershing Square Inc were transferred to the charity, which will help fund a massive 680,000 sq ft complex on Manhattan’s West End Avenue.
On the board, alongside Ackman and Oxman, is the neurosurgeon Chris Kellner, who led the team responsible for his daughter’s hospital treatment, as well as several prominent figures in science and research.
Plans for the charity had been in the pipeline for five years after Oxman’s mother died from Alzheimer’s disease. Lucy’s brain haemorrhage reportedly gave the project new urgency.
Ackman posted on X that Lucy had regained her cognition and begun to walk with assistance.
He was reported to be planning another large transfer to the charity, equal to or more than that of the stock transfer.
Ackman, who is worth around £6 billion, is co-trustee of The Pershing Square Foundation, which supports leaders and organisations that tackle important global issues.
He is also co-trustee of Pershing Square Philanthropies, which includes The Pershing Square Foundation. The foundation has committed more than £500 million to areas including health and medicine, education, economic development and innovation.
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