Bill Ackman Invests In The American Dream, Which In Turn Pays For His Dreams

Bill Ackman may not know who Chris Paul is (he’s more of a John McEnroe guy, if he’s honest, although the reverse can certainly not be said). Luckily for an affordable-housing impact investment firm, it didn’t need an NBA All-Star as brand ambassador and strange bedfellow to lure the hottest man on Wall Street, for it could appeal to his other interests and expertise, specifically: real estate and making money on apparently philanthropic endeavors.

Turner Impact Capital has raised $357 million for its second fund focused on providing affordable housing to people who earn too much to qualify for subsidized housing but not enough to afford homes in the areas where they live and work…. As of September, the firm’s first fund was on track to generate a 10.3% net return for its investors, according to Mr. Turner….

Mr. Ackman has backed four of the firm’s funds through Pershing Square Foundation, a charitable organization that manages money on behalf of Mr. Ackman and his family.

“Most of the foundation’s investments are in nonprofits,” Mr. Ackman said. “But we vastly prefer a for-profit solution than a nonprofit solution to a problem, because for-profit solutions are scalable, sustainable and it’s easier to incentivize people to get the job done.”

And we all know what those words mean, of course.

Investor Bill Ackman and NBA’s Chris Paul Back Housing Fund [WSJ]