Billionaire Bill Ackman donates $400 million to brain research after daughter's hemorrhage

Billionaire Bill Ackman is committing $400 million with his wife Neri Oxman to create a new non-profit institute dedicated to brain research, rehabilitation, recovery, and human longevity. This significant philanthropic endeavor was spurred by a deeply personal and harrowing experience.

“

At midnight on February 6th, earlier this year, the doorbell to our apartment rang. The doorbell was followed by a pounding on the door. I answered the door and a security person in our building handed me his phone. It was my oldest daughter Eloise. She had found my 26-year-old daughter unconscious on the floor of her apartment and had called 911. The EMT team was already there, but they did not know what was wrong with Lucy or to which hospital they would take her.

Ackman shared the heartbreaking story of his 26-year-old daughter's sudden brain hemorrhage. He recounted how she was found unconscious, leading to an emergency hemicraniectomy to relieve pressure on her brain. The surgery was successful, but the journey was arduous, with his daughter spending weeks in a coma, unable to perform basic functions like breathing, walking, seeing, or speaking.

“

This was the beginning of a long journey which started with Lucy being non-responsive because of a massive brain hemorrhage that would need an emergency hemicraniectomy to release the pressure on her brain and remove the blood from the hemorrhage. The operation was successful.

Despite the initial severity, Ackman expressed optimism about his daughter's recovery, noting her progress in regaining cognition and mobility. He believes that with time, hard work, technological advancements, and possibly divine intervention, she will return to normal function. This personal fight for his daughter's life has fueled his broader mission.

“

Each day, she makes a little progress, and daily progress compounds. Every day I tell her that she just needs to make a little progress and it won’t be long before she is back.

The proposed institute, tentatively named The Ackman Oxman Institute, will not focus on generating Nobel Prize winners. Instead, Ackman envisions a patient-centric organization prioritizing cures, treatments, rehabilitation devices, and recovery. His company has already secured a 400,000-square-foot biotech facility, signaling a serious commitment to this new venture aimed at advancing brain health and human longevity.

“

We remain optimistic that Lucy will return to normal function. It will likely take years, but I believe it is only a matter of time, hard work, and technological progress, along with some, and perhaps a lot, of divine intervention.