Benjamin Wachenje
Title: Founder and CEO, Pershing Square Capital Management
Born: May 11, 1966, Chappaqua, New York
Education: BA, Harvard College; MBA, Harvard Business School
Early Marker: Joined consortium bid for Rockefeller Center in 1995, which put his tiny investment firm, Gotham Partners, founded in 1992, on investors' radar.
Big Idea: Using his Pershing Square long/short hedge funds to launch activist campaigns against companies such as Wendy's J.C. Penney and Herbalife; reportedly planning to take one of his hedge funds public to raise permanent capital.
Wave of the Future: Activist investing
