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Bill Ackman lashed out at CNBC on Wednesday after presenters criticized him for his controversial appearance on the cable network this spring during the early days of the coronavirus.
On March 18, the 54-year-old hedge fund manager appeared to be struggling with tears on CNBC, concerned about his father’s health amid the pandemic. Ackman warned that “hell is coming,” just a few hours after pleading with President Trump on Twitter to shut the country down for 30 days.
That afternoon, the Dow Jones Industrial Average sank 6.3 percent, or more than 1,300 points, and some investors blame Ackman’s grim speech.
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However, a week later, Ackman was revealed to have made a huge and lucrative bet against the credit markets, with a windfall of $ 2.6 billion on a $ 27 million investment. Critics jumped in, accusing Ackman of rocking Wall Street and profiting in the process.
“I really blame CNBC,” Ackman said Wednesday when pressured about the timing of his massive short bet against the markets, and whether he had closed his lucrative position before doing the interview.
Insisting that he had, in fact, closed his gamble before his “Hell is Coming” comments, Ackman complained that CNBC had replayed the emotional clip of his 20-minute interview incessantly, although he had also said that I was buying shares in companies like Hilton Hotels amid the turmoil.
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“It took me 15 seconds of my interview and then I was spinning around scaring people because it was good television,” Ackman complained. “I gave a very optimistic message. I said I was buying shares. “
Ackman also said Wednesday that he is now bullish on the stocks of American companies, with the exception of those that are heavily indebted.
“We are not short on stocks,” said Ackman. “Obviously we are optimistic about the United States.”
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Ackman made his appearance on CNBC on March 18 just hours after triggering a storm of tweets directed at President Trump, in which he pleaded with the commander-in-chief to close the country for 30 days to prevent the spread of the pandemic.
Despite the controversy, Ackman’s cunning gamble against the credit markets helped him rebuild his reputation on Wall Street. On Wednesday, his new blank checking company, Pershing Square Tontine Holdings, was up 8 percent after raising a record $ 4 billion.
