Bill Ackman Called Howard Hughes Holdings a "Compounding Machine" He Wants to Turn Into a Trillion-Dollar Business Over the Next 50 Years. Here's Why the Market Might Be Underpricing That Bet.

Bill Ackman’s Pershing Square bought 9 million shares of Howard Hughes Holdings (NYSE: HHH) last year at $100 each, giving it a controlling stake. Those shares are now worth about $72, but Ackman has argued the company could become a “compounding machine” with value exceeding $1 trillion over the next 50 years. The pitch is tied to transforming Howard Hughes from a typical real estate operator into more of a manager of capital. Pershing Square acquired Vantage Group, an insurer, for $2.1 billion, and aims to free additional capital by liquidating parts of Howard Hughes’ real estate holdings. Planned outcomes include $2.5 billion to $3 billion in cash generation by 2030 and further expansion of the insurance portfolio.