Lawrence David Ackman (April 29, 1939 – May 31, 2022) was an American real estate entrepreneur who led the Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group, a company founded by his father and uncle. Ackman is noted for playing a role in the development of the mortgage brokerage industry. His son

Bill Ackman William Albert Ackman (born May 11, 1966) is an American billionaire investor and hedge fund manager. He is the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, a hedge fund management company. His investment approach makes him an activi ...

is a billionaire hedge-fund mogul.

Early life and education

Lawrence David Ackman was born on April 29, 1939, in New York City to Herman and Jean (Miller) Ackman. His paternal grandfather, Abraham Ackman immigrated to the United States from Russia in 1887. Ackman was raised in Manhattan and the Bronx; he attended the

Riverdale Country School Riverdale Country School is a co-educational, independent, college-preparatory day school in New York City serving pre-kindergarten through twelfth grade. It is located on two campuses covering more than in the Riverdale section of the Bronx, Ne ...

, graduating in 1956. Ackman attended Brown University for his undergraduate studies, majoring in economics. He completed his MBA in finance at Harvard Business School in 1963.

Career

During his career, Ackman arranged financing for

Seymour Durst Seymour Bernard Durst (September 7, 1913 – May 15, 1995) was an American real estate investor and developer. He was the creator of the National Debt Clock. Early life and education Durst was born in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Ne ...

, Friedland Properties, and Harry Helmsley, among other clients. In the 1990s, Ackman worked to finance the redevelopment of a property on Manhattan's Ninth Avenue, which now houses

Chelsea Market Chelsea Market is a food hall, shopping mall, office building and television production facility located in the Chelsea neighborhood of the borough of Manhattan, in New York City. The Chelsea Market complex occupies an entire city block with a ...

. Ackman became president of the Ackman-Ziff Real Estate Group in 1968 and the company's CEO in 1977.

Personal life

Ackman sat on the board of the

New York Philharmonic The New York Philharmonic, officially the Philharmonic-Symphony Society of New York, Inc., globally known as New York Philharmonic Orchestra (NYPO) or New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestra, is a symphony orchestra based in New York City. It is ...

and served as Chairman of the Pershing Square Foundation. Ackman died on May 31, 2022, at Massachusetts General Hospital.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ackman, Lawrence D. 1939 births 2022 deaths American real estate businesspeople People from New York City Riverdale Country School alumni College of Brown University alumni Harvard Business School alumni