Ackman donates $400m Pershing Square take to fund new brain institute

Hedge fund titan Bill Ackman and his wife Neri Oxman have pledged a substantial $400 million donation from their Pershing Square Foundation to fund the construction of a groundbreaking new brain research and rehabilitation center in New York City, according to Bloomberg. The majority of this donation comes in the form of 10 million shares of Pershing Square, currently valued at nearly $400 million at Wednesday's closing price.

The foundation has already secured a 400,000-square-foot building on Manhattan's Upper West Side for the project and has a contract to purchase an additional 130,000-square-foot property adjacent to the main site, along with an adjoining vacant lot and extra air rights. Ackman has described the planned facility, which will be named the Ackman Oxman Institute, as a "leading center for brain research, rehabilitation and recovery, as well as work focused on human performance and longevity."

The institute is expected to partner with Mount Sinai Hospital and other medical institutions and schools. Ackman has also indicated that he and his wife plan to make another donation of a comparable or potentially larger value, though this future contribution will not be in the form of Pershing Square shares.