"Innovation is good news for the markets, but the transition will not be without chaos. Certain companies, and of course certain professions, will collapse. A strong economy is one that has flexibility," says Jewish-American billionaire Bill Ackman, founder and CEO of investment firm Pershing Square and one of Wall Street’s most influential voices, in an interview with *Globes*.
How, according to Ackman, should one prepare for this era? "Regulation should avoid making layoffs difficult; in economies where it is hard to fire employees, employers will also be hesitant to hire them. Companies must constantly learn about new fields and prepare to pivot their operations the moment the need arises. As for employees, we all need to be entrepreneurs. We all need to receive training as entrepreneurs."
His optimism is highly relevant to Israel as well. In January 2024, Ackman and his wife, Neri Oxman, acquired a 5% stake in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, a move driven by a desire to support the Israeli economy, as well as a belief in its inherent strength. Since then, his optimism about the Israeli economy has only grown. In a conversation with Sheba Medical Center CEO Prof. Yitshak Kreiss held during Sheba’s ARC Summit on Thursday Ackman predicted that a trillion-dollar company would emerge in Israel within the next five to ten years. Artificial intelligence works to Israel’s advantage, he says. As a nation with a small population, we benefit from the fact that AI removes human-capital bottlenecks in many fields. In this context, a smaller population is actually an asset: when that eventual "trillion-dollar company" emerges, the tax revenues it generates will be shared among fewer people.
"The density of talented human capital in Israel is immense," he adds in a conversation with 'Globes'. "Every year, a new cohort enters the military, where they learn about technology, working under pressure, determination, bouncing back from failure, and trying new approaches in real time out of sheer necessity. These are the most important skills for entrepreneurs."
Ackman reveals an investment in an Israeli company that is still in stealth mode: Two Delta. The company was founded by Dvir Zetzer, a former senior executive at Google, together with Dr. Eli David. Dr. David co-founded DeepCube, which was acquired by Nano Dimension, and he is a prominent AI influencer on X, where he has over a million followers. Tens of millions of dollars have been invested in Two Delta, but it employs fewer than ten people. "This company enhances artificial intelligence itself and has the potential to accelerate it," says Ackman. "Consequently, it is relevant to every existing industry."
In which areas do you see Israel holding an advantage?
"Defense tech, cyber, and likely healthcare as well. Personally, with the exception of healthcare, I prefer to invest on the basis of the quality of the founder rather than the category. I look for founders who are committed, passionate, and talented."
Do you have any advice for Israeli entrepreneurs?
""The major challenge is to build companies that engage with the US during their very first years. Your small domestic market is the inherent drawback of being a small nation. But you are getting better at this."
What would you recommend a young person to study, and how should they go about it?
"Whatever interests them. Any field can be valuable, provided you excel in it. As for how to learn: today, artificial intelligence can serve as an excellent private tutor at virtually no cost. We are seeing the near-total democratization of education-anyone can learn anything."
"I’m concerned about antisemitism from the parties on both sides"
You have previously declared war on elite universities, identifying them as sources of antisemitism and arguing that they have abandoned the pursuit of excellence. Do we still need them?
"Things are shifting in a positive direction. We’re seeing a rise in the strength of universities that have developed a healthier approach to meritocracy and diversity, institutions that have maintained a less politicized tone and allowed for open expression by all. Vanderbilt University stands at the forefront of this trend. Universities that have failed to do so are no longer attracting the best students and faculty; once they realize this, they, too, will change."
And what can be done about the antisemitism that is spreading among the American public?
"Trump has been very positive on this issue, but I’m concerned about antisemitism coming from both the right and the left. It’s very important that the next president should also assists us in this regard. Discrimination is un-American, regardless whom it is directed against-including Jews. The president will need to safeguard the nation’s values."
The right way to democratize healthcare
Ackman’s current visit to Israel was prompted by two reasons, he explained this week: one was to vote, and the other was to attend the ARC Summit,a conference hosted by an international medical network led by Sheba Medical Center.
Akman’s daughter Lucy suffered a brain injury caused by a ruptured cerebral vein, the result of a congenital vascular defect that had gone entirely undetected. Since then, Ackman has dedicated the bulk of his resources to her care. He initially relocated his personal office to Mount Sinai Hospital, where she was hospitalized, balancing Zoom calls with investors alongside a supportive, nurturing presence by his daughter’s side.
As Lucy’s condition improved, he began to fulfill a promise he had made to the medical team on the night that the injury occurred: "I will provide whatever funding is necessary to attempt any treatment required, and we will share everything we learn here with the entire world." Ackman subsequently established the Ackman Oxman Institute (AOI) with a donation of at least $400 million to develop technologies for treating the brain, specifically for individuals with brain injuries like Lucy’s.
Besides being a potential investor and a passionate Zionist and supporter of Israel, Ackman’s visit is also motivated by a search for new medical technologies and knowledge to help his daughter, and for the new medical center.
You are an avowed capitalist. Even today, in your lecture at the conference, you stated that capitalism was the correct system and that social democracy causes harm-citing examples such as the unrest in France and people leaving Silicon Valley because of high taxes. But has this experience, the encounter with the inequality in the healthcare system, influenced your perspective? Lucy received good care because you are wealthy. The flip side of that is preventable death.
"Of course I remain a capitalist. Socialism is not the path to bringing better health to the public. Americans already pay a fortune for healthcare, and increasing spending does not always lead to better outcomes. The remedy for making healthcare accessible to everyone is to leverage technology within a capitalist framework. Healthcare costs don’t actually have to be this high. For instance, a top-tier speech therapist in the US can cost hundreds of dollars; a high-quality artificial intelligence system could replace them-at least in part."
Ackman transparently shares updates on his X account on the treatments Lucy is undergoing. It was also there that he disclosed his investment in Israeli company Cellergy, which has developed a process for mitochondrial transplantation. This is one of his few investments in Israel, alongside his holdings in the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange, Two Delta, and venture capital firm Entrée Capital. Cellergy is led by Rachel Diamant and Dr. David Baram, founders of Emendo Biotherapeutics, a company that was sold to Japanese pharmaceutical firm AnGes and that focused on improving gene-editing technologies. The company’s chairman is biotech investor Peter Kash.
"Vision enhancement is one of the areas that interests us most right now," he says. During his visit to Israel, he intends to examine technologies in this field, as well as in neuroscience. In the past, he has expressed interest in systems capable of bypassing the eye’s visual apparatus by transmitting information directly to the brain.
Overall, Ackman appears highly optimistic about the medical sector-and the future of humanity in general. "People often lose sight of the broader context. Life today is better than it was 50 to 100 years ago. The real risk lies in our political systems and in ensuring we have the right leaders."
Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on October 25, 2026.
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