Bill Ackman amplifies RFK Jr on Covid vaccines

Bill Ackman says in 2021 that delaying Covid vaccination for older Americans “seems like an act of genocide.”

Today, the influential investor and hedge fund executive is amplifying the debunked anti-vaccination views of Democratic presidential candidate Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

Ackman does not deny his change. In fact, he said Kennedy was asking “important questions” about vaccines, raising issues he wanted to learn more about.

Some of Ackman’s recent tweets about a Covid vaccine have left many of his Wall Street colleagues stunned and confused, according to some who have known and are allies of him for many years. And it prompted both his allies and enemies to ask the same question: Why is he doing this?

Ackman answered that question in an interview with CNBC on Wednesday.

“I listened to RFK on several podcasts and a town hall and thought he raised important issues about vaccines and other issues that are worthy of consideration,” said Ackman, CEO of Pershing Square Capital. Find out more”. “I don’t feel like we’ve fully answered questions about the safety of all vaccines, particularly those recently approved, and our approach to determine their safety and effectiveness.”

Although the effectiveness of the Covid vaccine has waned over time as the virus has evolved into new variants, public health officials say the vaccine is an important tool to prevent hospitalizations and deaths from the virus, especially in the elderly and those with pre-existing medical conditions. condition. Serious side effects are very rare. The CDC and FDA closely monitor vaccine safety through large surveillance systems and regularly discuss any issues at community advisory committee meetings.

ackman, a billionaire whose Comments can move the marketis the latest senior executive to show support for Kennedy and his opinions.

Wall Street veteran Omeed Malik is hosting a fundraising campaign for Kennedy later this month in the Hamptons. Risky investment David Sacks and technology leader Chamath Palihapitiya held a fundraiser for Kennedy in June, raising about $500,000 for Kennedy’s campaign. Ackman did not say whether he plans to donate to Kennedy’s presidential campaign.

Ackman’s new stance on vaccines marks a dramatic shift for investors. By 2021, he said the United States should “implement mass vaccination” of the elderly. He has reaped big profit during the height of the Covid pandemic by selling his bets to the market just days after warning on CNBC that “hell is coming” and begging Trump’s White House to shut down the country for a month. Ackman later called the idea comment “ridiculous” market moves.

Ackman told CNBC that his newly discovered worries about vaccines stem from being a parent and a concerned citizen. He said Kennedy, in his view, was asking “important questions” about them. “Unfortunately, vaccines are not tested for safety,” Kennedy said at a town hall end of last month.

Scientific researchers and health officials have categorically refuse Kennedy about vaccines, including his earlier argument that vaccines can lead to autism.

Ackman pushed his newfound skepticism to about 740,000 followers while saying he’s not opposed to vaccines. He has also taken on a doctor known for pushing back against Covid-related misinformation.

“@RobertKennedyJr and others have raised important questions about the safety of some vaccines and have sought explanations for the dramatic increase in the incidence of childhood allergies, disease autism and other health problems. These are great questions that have not been satisfactorily answered,” Ackman said in a statement. tweet last month cited a video by former Fox News host Tucker Carlson arguing that Kennedy is getting better than the President Joe Biden in the early days of the Democratic primary campaign.

Biden is leading significantly in the Democratic primary polls, although Kennedy is garnering double-digit support.

When asked if he believes Kennedy should be president, Ackman said: “I don’t know yet, but I think he’s asking important questions and raising interesting issues worth considering. discussion and debate.”

Ackman, who has supported Democrats in the past, also did not say whether he supported Biden.

“That depends on the alternatives at the time of the general election,” Ackman said. “My strong preference is that he announced he will not run to create a more open field for other candidates.”

Some say Ackman could position himself for more influence in politics, including potentially running for office one day. Ackman said in a recent time tweet that he plans to meet Schumer this week to discuss his ideas on how to tackle college student debt after the Supreme Court fight down Biden’s bailout plan.

Ackman denied there were any campaign plans and declined to comment on his meeting with Schumer.

Others say he may be trying to align himself with outspoken business leaders who are more conservative and have repeated the same things, such as Sacks and the Twitter owner Elon Musk. Sacks and Musk both expressed support for Kennedy and GOP presidential candidate Ron DeSantis, governor of Florida.

Many of those familiar with Ackman — both allies and opponents — spoke to CNBC on condition of anonymity to publicly express their stance on why they believe he suddenly forged. train his antisemitism on issues like vaccines and Russia.

Carl Icahnveteran activist investor and longtime rival of Ackman’s, told CNBC in a phone interview that he believes the Pershing Square CEO’s tweets are another example of how wrong Ackman is.

“His tweets can be a positive thing. Since I’ve known him, he’s almost never right about anything he says. So if a person reads his tweets, he’s never been right. him and vice versa, you are almost certainly right and could very well create an argument.” big profits,” Icahn said.

“He bet big and like the river gambler, he sometimes wins but often loses big. Look at the billions of dollars he lost at Herbalife and Valeant. Most gamblers. in the river all died,” Icahn said. “The only difference between him and a river gambler is that he not only loses his own money, but unfortunately, he also loses a lot of other people’s money.”

Ackman declined to comment on Icahn’s remarks.

Institutional Investments reported that Ackman broke a three-year winning streak in 2022, recording its first decline since 2018. Pershing Square Holdings fell more than 8% for the year, according to an Investment Foundation report. Private Organization. publication. Ackman declined to respond to Icahn’s comment.

Ackman’s recent tweets have also caught the attention of Wall Street. Alexander Reid Ross, a disinformation expert who teaches at Portland State University in Oregon, told CNBC that it appears Ackman is coming up with various conspiracies — and getting things wrong.

Reid Ross points to Ackman’s latest tweets regarding the Wagner Group armed uprising in Russia.

“Ackman’s profile seems to swing wildly and is intrigued by claims that seem interesting and extreme but are ultimately false. For example, during Wagner’s most recent rebellion, he shared a who said that ‘or is [Vladimir] Putin kills Prigo [Yevgeny Prigozhin] or Moscow falls’, and in another case he supports the country where Putin made the whole thing,” Reid Ross said.

In seemingly defending Kennedy’s widely criticized and debunked position on vaccines, Ackman also threw himself into a Twitter battle involving Dr Peter Jay Hotez, who dismissed misinformation regarding the vaccine. regarding vaccines. Coronavirus and vaccines.

Podcast host Joe Rogan originally pitched the idea for Hotez and Kennedy to debate. Rogan, who has turned his popular show into a platform for celebrities as well as conspiracy theorists, has offered to donate $100,000 to a charity if the doctor is willing to join the program. to debate Kennedy. Ackman later said he would “add $150,000 to @joerogan’s bet so that now $250,000 can be given to charity and the public can hear an open debate on an important topic.” important.”

Musk interjected and said, “Maybe @PeterHotez just hates charity.” Hotez refused to argue with Kennedy but did speak he’s willing to join Rogan’s show to discuss his own views on vaccines. He later said on Twitter that “several antitrust people” showed up at his Texas home to “taunt” him arguing about Kennedy.

At first, Ackman encouraged the debate between Kennedy and Hotez. He later retracted the idea and criticized the doctor, who said on his website that he had worked on “the development of a coronavirus vaccine including a vaccine to be used in more than 100 million people.” in India and Indonesia.”

“Based on my further research, Hotez does not appear to be a credible advocate for vaccine policy due to his repeated inaccurate public statements during the crisis and the potential conflicts he might have,” Ackman tweeted to his more than 700,000 followers on June 19.

Hotez replied to Ackman on Twitter the next day.

“It was horrible to read Mr. Ackman’s account of my activities. I have no contradictions about pharmaceuticals, I have co-developed a low-cost, unpatented Covid vaccine for global health that has reached global health. 100 million doses. I’ve never taken a dime for any cable/podcast/ radio news,” Hotez said.

“And are you brave enough to give fake internet monetization websites as your proof?”

— Lora Kolodny of CNBC contributed to this report.