Brad Gerstner

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Brad Gerstner
Brad Gerstner at the White House 2025 (54581192563).jpg
Gerstner in 2025
Born
Bradley Thomas Gerstner [1]

(1971-05-04) May 4, 1971 (age 54)
Goshen, Elkhart County, Indiana, U.S.
Alma mater
Occupation(s)Investor, hedge fund manager
Known forFounding and leading Altimeter Capital [1]
Spouse
Michelle Boyers
​
(m. 2007)​
Children2

Bradley Thomas Gerstner (born May 4, 1971) is an American entrepreneur, investor, venture capitalist, hedge fund manager, and podcaster. He is the founder, chairman, and CEO of Altimeter Capital. Gerstner appeared on the 2022 Forbes Midas List after his firm's successful investments in Snowflake and Grab. [2] He co-hosts BG2Pod, a bi-weekly podcast on tech, markets, investing, and capitalism, alongside venture capitalist Bill Gurley. [3] In 2025, he founded the Invest America Foundation, which helped advance the Invest America Act—federal legislation that created $1,000 tax-advantaged investment accounts for every child born between 2025 and 2028. [4] [5]

Contents

Early life

Gerstner was born on May 4, 1971, in Goshen, a city in Elkhart County, Indiana. [6] [7] His father was Thomas Gerstner and his mother was Martha Burt. [8]

He attended Wabash College from 1989 to 1993 and graduated summa cum laude with a bachelor's degree in Economics and Political Science. [6] [7] [9] He also studied abroad at the University of Oxford from 1991 to 1992. [6] [7] [9]

From 1993 to 1996, Gerstner attended Indiana University Maurer School of Law and obtained a Juris Doctor degree. [6] [7] [10] He did day trading to help pay for his law school fees. [11] After graduation he practiced securities law at Ice Miller LLP and served as Deputy Secretary of State of Indiana. [12]

In 1999, Gerstner returned to school and attended Harvard Business School where he graduated in 2000 with a Master of Business Administration degree. [6] [7] [11] After graduating, he was a founding principal of General Catalyst, worked at several travel startups, and later became a Portfolio Manager for PAR Capital from 2005 to 2008. [13]

Altimeter Capital

In 2008, Gerstner founded Altimeter Capital in Boston, Massachusetts. [11] [14] It was launched with less than $3 million from friends and family during the 2008 financial crisis. [15]

In January 2016, Gerstner and the firm fought with United Continental Holdings to change the company's board of directors. [16] United eventually gave in and changed its board. [17]

In October 2022, Gerstner wrote an open letter to Meta Platforms CEO Mark Zuckerberg, urging the company to cut staff and reduce spending on the metaverse. [18] A few weeks later, Meta laid off over 11,000 employees. [19]

In late 2022, Gerstner and Altimeter bought Nvidia shares despite bearish forecasts, later expanding their position in early 2023 after ChatGPT debuted. Gerstner predicted an “AI supercycle.” [20]

Policy initiatives

In 2025, Gerstner founded the Invest America Foundation, a nonprofit advocating for expanding children's access to investment opportunities. [21]

That same year, Congress passed the Invest America Act as part of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump on July 4, 2025. The legislation creates private, tax-advantaged investment accounts for all children born after December 31, 2024. Each account is seeded with a $1,000 federal contribution invested in a diversified U.S. stock index fund. [4] [5] The purpose is to reduce the wealth gap and to make sure that every child is included in the upside of capitalism.

Personal life

Gerstner married Michelle Boyers in 2007 at Martha's Vineyard. [8] They met at Harvard Business School. [8] Gerstner is also an amateur pilot. [14]

References

  1. 1 2 3 "AGCB Company Profile & Executives - Altimeter Growth Corp. 2 Cl A - Wall Street Journal". www.wsj.com.
  2. ↑ Capital, TrueBridge. "Newcomers To The Midas List 2022: Backing What's Trending At Home And Abroad". Forbes. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  3. ↑ "BG2Pod with Brad Gerstner and Bill Gurley". BG2Pod. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  4. 1 2 "Invest America Act: A New Opportunity for Our Kids' Financial Future". Wealthspire. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  5. 1 2 "Americans Are Winning Big with the One Big Beautiful Bill". White House. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
  6. 1 2 3 4 5 "Brad Gerstner's Top 10 Stock Picks". Insider Monkey. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  7. 1 2 3 4 5 "Altimeter Capital's Brad Gerstner Says Facebook's Management Team is Open, Honest, and Transparent". Yahoo Finance. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  8. 1 2 3 "Michelle Boyers, Bradley Gerstner". The New York Times. September 30, 2007. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  9. 1 2 "Wabash Magazine 2020: What Are You Going to Do About This?". Wabash College. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  10. ↑ "Brad Gerstner". Phocuswright Conference. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  11. 1 2 3 "Brad Gerstner". Forbes. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  12. ↑ "Brad Gerstner". Sohn Conference. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  13. ↑ "Brad Gerstner". CNBC. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  14. 1 2 "Online-Travel King Brad Gerstner Wants Venture Capital Empire". Bloomberg. November 7, 2013. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  15. ↑ "After Snowflake windfall, Altimeter Capital captures dealmaking spotlight". PitchBook. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  16. ↑ "Investors push for board shake-up at United Continental Holdings". Washington Post. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  17. ↑ "United was 'clumsy' at first in scandal, but eventually 'got it right,' investor says". CNBC. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  18. ↑ "Meta shareholder writes critical open letter saying company needs to slash headcount and stop spending so much money on 'metaverse'". CNBC. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  19. ↑ "Meta laying off more than 11,000 employees: Read Zuckerberg's letter announcing the cuts". CNBC. Retrieved November 26, 2022.
  20. ↑ "Brad Gerstner Bought Nvidia Stock When 'Everybody Said Sell': Now He's Buying Apple Stock At All-Time Highs". Benzinga. Retrieved June 15, 2024.
  21. ↑ "Our Team". Invest America. Retrieved August 21, 2025.
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