Bill Ackman Agrees with Jeff Bezos: Building Something That Works is Best Way to Help the World
The Pershing Square founder agrees with Jeff Bezos that running a great company creates more social impact than writing checks. His new Brain Research Institute seeds for-profit spinouts with nonprofit capital.
Summary
Bill Ackman, having spent close to $1 billion on philanthropy over two decades, believes capitalism is more efficient at solving problems than philanthropy. He argues that "you create far more jobs through capitalism than through philanthropy." Jeff Bezos makes a similar point, emphasizing the larger societal value of successful for-profit companies compared to charitable giving.
Ackman and Bezos represent a growing group of elite capital allocators who prioritize corporate success as a form of social contribution. Ackman criticizes nonprofits for lacking equity incentives and facing limited market pressure, which can lead to them becoming "political vehicles instead of sticking to their original mission."
Bezos, meanwhile, is raising $10 billion for a physical AI lab while also pledging to give away most of his fortune through a $10 billion climate fund. This tension between building and giving is not unique to either of them.
What sets Ackman apart is that he’s not abandoning philanthropy; instead, he’s reinventing it. His new Brain Research Institute, funded by nonprofits, aims to spin out for-profit companies, devices, molecules, and treatments focused on brain injuries and strokes, with equity shared among staff. This model mirrors Pershing Square’s compensation structure. The institute addresses a specific funding gap: basic science research too far from revenue to attract venture capital and too specialized for federal grants.
Personally, Ackman’s initiative is partly driven by his daughter Lucy’s brain haemorrhage in February, which shifted his philanthropic focus towards neuroscience. The nonprofit structure allows him access to researchers and institutions that wouldn’t collaborate with for-profit entities, while the for-profit spinouts ensure market discipline to prevent organizations from drifting away from their mission.
Story by Cristian Dina
Cristian Dina is the CRO at The Next Web. He has interviewed 300+ industry leaders and authored the book King of Networking, establishing himself as one of the most connected and respected voices in the ecosystem. At just 23 years old, Cristian was included in Forbes’ 30 Under 30 list.