New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg speaks at a press conference regarding Super Bowl XLVIII, which New York and New Jersey will host at MetLife Stadium on February 2, 2014 in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on October 10, 2013 in New York City.(Photo: Andrew Burton, Getty Images)
Hedge fund billionaire Bill Ackman, who got rich making wagers, is now betting that former New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg will run for president of the United States in 2016 — and win.
"My view is Michael Bloomberg is going to run for president and my view is he is going to win," Ackman said to Stephanie Ruhle of Bloomberg TV. "I would do everything in my power to get this guy elected," Ackman said at a Bloomberg Markets conference in Manhattan.
The billionaire investor said he is speaking from the heart and not because he was at a Bloomberg-hosted event. He also insisted it is more than just wishful thinking that Bloomberg, who founded and runs data and media empire Bloomberg L.P., will enter the 2016 election.
"I have some feeling of what it's like to be Michael Bloomberg," Ackman said when asked why Bloomberg would run. "The answer is because he is going to die," Ackman said of the 73-year-old Wall Streeter turned politician. "He will regret not running," said the hedge fund manager, who talked passionately about what he thinks Bloomberg thinks about when he thinks about dying. "This is his chance," he said of Bloomberg's ability to win the White House.
To be sure, Wall Street players were supporters of Bloomberg when he was Mayor of New York City, and they helped get him elected to a controversial third term in 2009. The Boston native worked at securities firm Salomon Brothers before starting his own firm, which also caters to banks and brokerage houses like Goldman Sachs and Lehman Brothers.
"I think the country is ready for a business-oriented, philanthropic, straight-talking business guy to run for office," Ackman said. But he dismissed real-estate developer Trump as well as Democratic hopeful Hillary Clinton, saying "Hillary has proven not to be a strong candidate."
Others people who have suggested Bloomberg would make a good presidential candidate include media mogul Rupert Murdoch and writer Michael Wolff in a column for USA TODAY.
USA TODAY
Wolff: There's one obvious Trump slayer
Ackman also defended drug-maker Valeant, which has seen its stock plummet amid concerns about how it prices its drugs. Shares of the Canada-based drug-maker tumbled last month on news that Democrats on the House oversight committee have been pushing for subpoenas seeking documents related to price hikes earlier this year of 525% and 212% in two of its heart drugs.
The stock losses have hurt Ackman's hedge fund performance, as well as a slew of other hedge fund that have piled into the stock behind him.
Ackman called certain drug price hikes "egregious" but said he does not support price controls. "I don't defend that kind of behavior, but I do think it's important that it doesn't lead to regulation that will stifle innovation," he said.
Valeant acquires most of its drug portfolio through serial acquisitions of smaller companies. Research and development makes up just 3% of spending — a position Ackman defended as smart business sense.
"Valeant believes they are not good at drug development," he said. "They are making a massive contribution to drug development" by acquiring drugs rather than making them, he said.
USA TODAY
Big-name hedge funds plummet — again
Follow Kaja Whitehouse on Twitter: @kajawhitehouse.
Read or Share this story: http://usat.ly/1Lgx9zZ