Hedge fund Titan's sure-fire bet turns into US$4b loss

New York

A LITTLE over two years ago, William Ackman, one of Wall Street's brashest and most self-assured hedge fund managers, was on top of the world. A billionaire before he hit 50, he was generating double-digit gains for his investors and raking in hundreds of millions in fees for his firm and himself.

Hailed as a master investor, he clinched his highflier status in fall 2014 by paying US$90 million with some friends to buy the penthouse at One57, a 13,500-square-foot aerie in midtown Manhattan overlooking Central Park. He did not plan to live there - it was an investment property - but until he sold it, the apartment would make a good party space, he told The New York Times.