Bill Ackman Just Revealed His Secret To Bouncing Back From A $4 Billion Loss And Painful Divorce

Billionaire investor Bill Ackman, whose current net worth stands at $8.07 billion, recently shared the story of one of biggest failures, and how he overcame it to emerge stronger.

What Happened: Speaking on stage at the Forbes Iconoclast Summit in New York, Ackman said, “I was going through a divorce, which is great financial pressure. The fund was down 30-something percent”. He added that other people in the industry turned against them and that he sold all of his fund's shares in a company called Valeant, which ended up costing the fund nearly $4 billion.

Eventually, with the help of a $300 million loan from JPMorgan Chase, he secured control of his fund.

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Why It Matters: According to Ackman, by applying the principle of compounding to his personal life, he made small changes daily and focused on his next step instead of dwelling on the past. Progress felt slow at first, but after 90 days he began to see changes.

"I'm going to make progress. I'm not going to look back to where I was. If I look there, I'm going to get discouraged. I'm just going to focus on the next step, and then the next step, and the next step," he said.

He observed that this perspective, applied to any setback, including health issues, job loss, or business failure, can help anyone overcome them.

Ackman previously shared the same anecdote on the Lex Fridman podcast, explaining how he rebuilt himself through step-by-step progress on a daily basis.

On the same podcast, Ackman recalled how a New York taxi driver had thanked him advice that turned a $50,000 investment into an almost $3 million retirement fund.

Image via Shutterstock

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