“I don’t like wasting money,” Ackman told the WSJ last year. “Dad was very big on not wasting things. If I left my light on in my room, he’d get really upset. Now I go around the house turning off every light.”
Ackman is known to many as a controversially outspoken and powerful hedge fund success whose influence has spanned across politics and the business world (Ackman even credited himself to helping President Donald Trump get elected). But long before his investing highs and amassing an X following of more than 2 million people, the now-59-year-old had a relatively normal home life. Born to commercial real-estate broker Larry Ackman, the family lived in a $56,000 New York state house that Ackman said was a “stretch” for his dad to afford in 1965.
Knowing his family wouldn’t be passing down any inheritance to him, the hedge fund mogul paved his own path toward billion-dollar success. But that doesn’t mean he’s changed his tune on spending—he’ll go great lengths to score the best deal, even if that means driving around town just to find a cheaper place to park.
“If I don’t like the price of the garage, I’ll go to a different one. It’s funny. I don’t like paying for parking, and I used to own a parking company,” Ackman continued. “Or it really upsets me if the gas grill was running over the weekend—which it was, and it pissed me off. I really don’t like wasting money. I wouldn’t call it a neurosis, but it’s something that I care about.”
