Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman: I’m a big believer in Israel long-term

$26.2 BILLION IS THE NUMBER FOR ALMOST 15,000,000,000 IN 24. ONE OF THOSE INVESTORS IS FAMED HEDGE FUND MANAGER AND CEO OF PERSHING SQUARE CAPITAL, BILL ACKMAN. HE IS IN ISRAEL RIGHT NOW AND JOINS US EXCLUSIVELY FROM THE TEL AVIV STOCK EXCHANGE, WHERE HE IS A PARTIAL OWNER OF THE EXCHANGE BILL. IT'S SO GREAT TO HAVE YOU FROM ISRAEL. I UNDERSTAND YOU'RE THERE. YOU'VE BEEN SPEAKING AT A CONFERENCE ON HEALTH CARE INNOVATION. WHAT WHAT WHAT HAS WHAT HAS YOU ATTRACTED RIGHT NOW TO, TO WHAT YOU'RE SEEING THERE? >> SO I THINK IT'S. >> ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD. IT'S ALSO ONE OF THE BEST ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD. IF YOU LOOK AT THEIR KIND OF OVERALL MACRO STATISTICS, YOU KNOW, GROWTH EXPECTED TO BE 7.5%. MEANWHILE, INFLATION IS VERY LOW, CURRENCY IS STRONG. IT'S AN OVERALL SOVEREIGN DEBT IS RELATIVELY LOW. SO IT'S A VERY WELL RUN ECONOMY. IT'S ONE OF THE MOST INNOVATIVE ECONOMIES IN THE WORLD. YOU KNOW, YOU MIGHT HAVE HEARD OF OUR PERSHING SQUARE VENTURES. WE MENTIONED OUR LAST QUARTER. WE ARE GOING TO BE INVESTING. WE HAVE BEEN INVESTING IN SOME KIND OF PRE-IPO AND EARLIER STAGE COMPANIES. THIS IS ACTUALLY A PRETTY GOOD PLACE TO FIND THEM, SOME OF THEM. SO THAT'S AMONG OTHER REASONS WHY I'M HERE. >> I MEAN, YOU ARE YOU ARE STANDING AT THE TEL AVIV STOCK EXCHANGE BILL, WHERE YOU INVESTED ABOUT ALMOST 5% STAKE JUST A FEW MONTHS AFTER OCTOBER 7TH. IT WAS SUCH A DARK TIME FOR ISRAEL. THE INVESTMENT HAS RETURNED NINEFOLD SINCE THEN. IT'S GOT TO BE ONE OF YOUR BEST INVESTMENTS. WHAT DID YOU SEE THAT THAT OTHER PEOPLE DIDN'T? >> WELL, IT WAS YOU KNOW, IT WAS OBVIOUSLY, YOU KNOW, WHEN THEY SAY THERE'S BLOOD IN THE STREETS IS USUALLY, YOU KNOW, UNFORTUNATELY, AN OPPORTUNISTIC TIME TO INVEST, YOU KNOW, A BIG BELIEVER IN THE COUNTRY LONG TERM. IT'S ONE OF THE HIGHEST RATIOS, AS I SAY, SORT OF IQ AND IP PER CAPITA. YOU KNOW, ISRAEL, ONE OF HIS BIGGEST COMPETITIVE DISADVANTAGES IS THAT THE SMALL SIZE OF THE COUNTRY, I WOULD SAY THAT'S BECOMING A COMPETITIVE ADVANTAGE. YOU KNOW, THE LARGER COUNTRIES WITH, YOU KNOW, BIG SORT OF WELFARE STATE. YOU LOOK AT WHAT'S GOING ON IN FRANCE RIGHT NOW, YOU KNOW, BEING A SMALLER COUNTRY WITH A TON OF INNOVATION AND AN ENVIRONMENT THAT'S VERY FAVORABLE FOR STARTUPS. AND ALSO JUST, YOU KNOW, IF YOU THINK ABOUT THE, THE GRIT OF A PEOPLE THAT HAVE BEEN THROUGH A SEVERAL YEAR WAR, YOU GOT AN ENTIRE GENERATION OF TALENT. YOU KNOW, YOU KNOW, WAR IS A GREAT PLACE TO LEARN ABOUT LEADERSHIP, DEVELOP GRIT. AND ALSO ISRAEL'S, YOU KNOW, VERY WELL KNOWN FOR, YOU KNOW, THE TECHNOLOGY TRAINING THAT HAPPENS, YOU KNOW,