Whitney Tilson

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Whitney Tilson
Eaglebrook-School-Commencement-201620160602 4692 (27471637226) (closer crop).jpg
Born (1966-11-01) November 1, 1966 (age 58)
New Haven, Connecticut, United States
Education
Occupation(s)Investor, author, and political activist
Known forCandidate in the Democratic primary in the 2025 New York City mayoral election
Political party Democratic
Board member of
Children3 daughters
Relatives John Q. Tilson (great-grandfather)
Website www.whitneyformayor.com

Whitney Richard Tilson (born November 1, 1966) is an American former hedge fund manager, and a philanthropist, author, and Democratic political activist. He managed a hedge fund for 18 years. In November 2024, Tilson announced his entry into the Democratic primary for Mayor of New York City in the 2025 election. He promised to cut New York City violent crime, reduce spending, address the high cost of living, and improve New York City public schools.

Contents

Early life and education

Whitney Tilson was born in New Haven, Connecticut, to Thomas and Susan Tilson. [1] His great-grandfather was John Q. Tilson, a Republican politician from Connecticut. John Q. Tilson served in the House of Representatives for 22 years, for six years as House Majority Leader, during the Coolidge and Hoover Administrations. [1]

Tilson's parents had met when they were in the Peace Corps, teaching in the Philippines, and married three months later; as of 2015 they lived in Kenya, as did his sister Dana. [2] [3] [4] Tilson grew up primarily in Tanzania and Nicaragua, where his parents served as educators in the Peace Corps. [5] At age 6, he participated in the Stanford marshmallow experiment, a psychological study that examined delayed gratification among children. [6]

Tilson graduated from Northfield Mount Hermon School in Massachusetts in 1985. [7] In 1989, he graduated magna cum laude from Harvard College with a bachelor's degree in government. [7]

In 1994, he earned an MBA with High Distinction from Harvard Business School. He was named a Baker Scholar, a recognition awarded to the top 5% of the graduating class. [8]

Career

Finance

Tilson spent two years working a consultant for the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) before business school. [9] BCG agreed to defer his start date for half a year, so that he could help launch Teach for America. [10]

Tilson then managed a hedge fund for 18 years. [11] He followed the approach of investor Warren Buffett, investing in companies selling at a significant discount to intrinsic value, and also described himself as a disciple of value investing theorist Benjamin Graham. [12] [13] He founded and managed the hedge fund Kase Capital from 1999 to 2017, as a value investor. [7] [14] As of February 2004, his hedge fund had returned 68% (53% after fees) since its start on January 1, 1999, compared with a 3% loss for the Standard & Poor's 500-stock index. [15] The fund's assets peaked at over $200 million, and it closed in September 2017 after underperforming the S&P for a number of years. [16] In 2019, Tilson became an editor at Stansberry Research, an investment newsletter that has more than 100,000 paid subscribers. [17] [18]

Writing

Tilson has authored or co-authored three books: More Mortgage Meltdown: 6 Ways to Profit in These Bad Times (2009) with Glenn Tongue, The Art of Value Investing: How the World's Best Investors Beat the Market (2013) with John Heins, and The Art of Playing Defense: How to Get Ahead by Not Falling Behind (2021). [19] He was also a contributing editor to Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger (2023). [20] He is a frequent contributor to financial publications including the Financial Times , The Motley Fool, Forbes , and CNBC. [21]

Media

Tilson has been featured in two 60 Minutes segments. The first, in December 2008, was about the 2008 housing crisis, and won an Emmy. [22]

In 2015, he was featured in a second 60 Minutes segment, which was about Lumber Liquidators, with the broadcast accusing the company of selling an unsafe type of Chinese-made laminate flooring that contained dangerous levels of the carcinogen formaldehyde which exceeded emissions standards. [23] [24] [25] Tilson had shorted the company's stock after it more than doubled in a year, and paid $5,000 to test three pieces of wood; he said that formaldehyde levels in the wood he tested were two to six times the California Air Resources Board limits. [26] Shares of the company dropped 25% the day after the broadcast; eight months later it was down 75%. [23] [27] The company ultimately paid a $33 million penalty. [28]

Activism

Antisemitism

Tilson was critical of Harvard's response to antisemitism on campus in the wake of the 2023 Israel–Hamas war that began with the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel. [29] In November 2023, he was so angry at the school for failing to stand up to antisemitism that he declined an invitation to meet with a Harvard Business School fund-raising officer. [29] He opined: "The damage that Harvard has done to its brand since Oct. 7 is only rivaled in history by New Coke and what Elon Musk has done to Twitter." [29] He said that he considered Harvard "the least needy charity on earth". [29]

Education reform

Tilson was a founding member of Teach For America, a nonprofit that places college graduates as teachers in severely underprivileged schools. [9] [30] While attending Harvard Business School, he worked with Professor Michael Porter to create and became the director of the Initiative for a Competitive Inner City, which has provided $1.7 billion in capital to minority-owned businesses across the country. [9]

Tilson is involved with a number of charities that focus on education reform. [7] He served on the board of the Knowledge is Power Program (KIPP) Academy, a charter school in the South Bronx, for two decades, and is a vocal supporter of charter schools. [31] [32] He is a co-founder and board member of national political action committee Democrats for Education Reform. [33] [34]

In 2007, Tilson helped create a $1 million program (called Reach, for Rewarding Achievement) funded by philanthropists to pay students in 25 public schools and six Roman Catholic private schools in New York City who do well on Advanced Placement exams. [35] [36] High school students receiving a top score of five on one of the exams earned $1,000 (a four was worth $750, and a three was worth $500). [35] The schools chosen for the program all had a high proportion of low-income black or Latino students. [35] Tilson approached the Pershing Square Foundation to finance the project, and it agreed to give the project $1 million for its first year. [35]

Politics

Tilson served on the finance committees of Barack Obama and Cory Booker. He has donated to dozens of Democratic candidates. [37] [38]

In 2016, he was derisively criticized by Democratic Senator Elizabeth Warren in a Facebook post as a "hedge fund billionaire ... thrilled by Donald Trump's economic team of Wall Street insiders". [39] The New York Times pointed out, however, that there was "one glaring problem with Ms. Warren's attack". [39] Tilson happened to be "one of the few financial executives who publicly fought Mr. Trump's election and supported Hillary Clinton... Mr. Tilson also happened to be one of the rare Wall Street executives who had donated to Ms. Warren... Recently, he gave Mrs. Clinton $1,000 so he could see Ms. Warren speak at a campaign fund-raiser." [39] Pulitzer Prize-winning columnist Nicholas Kristof described Warren's post as an "unbalanced screed". [40] Warren later apologized. [40]

After President Joe Biden's poor performance in his June 2024 presidential debate against Donald Trump, Tilson pushed for Biden to step aside from the Democratic ticket. [41] Despite having been a long-time financial supporter of Biden, he said: "If the man I saw at the debate is the real Joe Biden right now, it would be a waste of my time and money to support him because he has almost no chance of beating Trump." [42]

Taxation

Tilson is a member of the Patriotic Millionaires, a nonpartisan organization of high net worth Americans who are in favor of the restructuring of the American tax system so that wealthy people pay a greater share of their income in taxes. [43] He wrote in a Washington Post op-ed in 2012: "people like me — who aren’t suffering at all in these tough economic times, who are in many cases doing the best we’ve ever done and who can easily afford to pay more in taxes with no impact on our lifestyle — should be the first to step up and make a small sacrifice." [44]

Other

He served on the board of the Fistula Foundation. It focuses on the treatment of obstetric fistula, funding repair surgeries for the medical condition. [31]

In 2005, after 17-year-old Genarlow Wilson engaged in oral sex with a consenting 15-year-old girl, he was convicted in Georgia of aggravated child molestation, and sentenced to 10 years in prison. [45] [46] At the time, Georgia statutory provisions for similarity in age that allowed underage consent to be taken into account only applied to vaginal sex. The girl repeatedly said that she had consented. [45] Inasmuch as the case involved oral sex, however, the girl's consent was not considered legally relevant. [45] [47] [48] In June 2007, Tilson and others offered to finance a $1 million cash bond to secure Wilson's release, but the Georgia court ruled that no bond was permissible. [30] [49] Tilson said he hoped to have a small part in righting what he also called a "miscarriage of justice". [30] In October 2007, the Georgia State Supreme Court ruled that Wilson's sentence was cruel and unusual, and ordered him released. [50]

In September 2011, Tilson raised $200,000 for charities working to address the famine, violence, and mass rape in Somalia during the Somali Civil War. [51] He matched up to $100 of each contribution. [51]

He has visited Ukraine four times since Russia's 2022 invasion of Ukraine. Tilson has raised more than $18 million for humanitarian supplies, medical care, ambulances, generators, and battery packs, [52] [53] [54]

Democratic primary for Mayor of New York City

In November 2024, Tilson announced his entry into the June 2025 Democratic primary for Mayor of New York City in the 2025 mayoral election. [11] [55] [56] He promised to cut New York City violent crime, reduce spending, address the high cost of living, and improve New York City public schools. [11]

Personal life

Tilson lives in Manhattan with his wife Susan Dana, née Blackman, whom he married in 1993, and with whom he has three adult daughters. [1] He competes in obstacle course racing, participating in seven 24-hour World's Toughest Mudder races. He has won the over-50 age category twice, and set the all-time age group of 75 miles. [57]

He is an avid rock climber and mountaineer. Tilson has summitted El Capitan, climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro, Mt. Blanc, the Matterhorn, and the Eiger. [58]

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References

  1. 1 2 3 "ENGAGEMENTS; Susan D. Blackman, Whitney R. Tilson", The New York Times, August 22, 1993.
  2. ↑ Whitney Tilson (December 23, 2016). "Our Mt. Kenya Trekking Adventure; My Mid-Life Crisis Adventures," Tilson Funds
  3. ↑ Dan Freed (March 2, 2015). "Who Is Whitney Tilson? Buffett Disciple Shorts Lumber Liquidators," The Street.
  4. ↑ Whitney Tilson (July 25, 2024). "My three goals in these e-mails", Whitney Tilson's Daily.
  5. ↑ "More from Local News News - Page 1559", CBS News.
  6. ↑ "#046 Whitney Tilson On Avoiding The 5 Calamities That Can Ruin You", The Julia LaRoche Show, January 13, 2023.
  7. 1 2 3 4 "Profiles of CNBC star guests; Whitney Tilson," CNBC.
  8. ↑ Glassman, James (February 21, 2004). "Dinner and Tips". Washington Post.
  9. 1 2 3 Cowan, Alison (June 2, 1994). "From Harvard, Help for Inner City". The New York Times.
  10. ↑ Whitney Tilson (April 30, 2024). "Tips on the 'first step' of securing a successful financial future," Whitney Tilson's Daily.
  11. 1 2 3 Herbst-Bayliss, Svea (November 26, 2024). "Former hedge fund manager Tilson enters race for New York City mayor". Reuters .
  12. ↑ James K. Glassman (March 2006). "My 10 stocks for 2006", Kiplinger's Personal Finance.
  13. ↑ Mark Sellers (February 23 2007). "Focus on the downside and the upside will take care of itself", The Financial Times.
  14. ↑ Jenny Anderson (August 11, 2006). "Hedge Fund Manager Who Plays His Cards Right," The New York Times.
  15. ↑ James K. Glassman (February 21, 2004). "World of Investing : Losing a wager to learn a lot", The New York Times.
  16. ↑ Celarier, Michelle (March 20, 2018). "The Last Days of Whitney Tilson's Kase Capital".
  17. ↑ "Whitney Tilson". Pershing Square Foundation.
  18. ↑ Pellejero, Sebastian (February 8, 2019). "His Hedge Fund Shut, Whitney Tilson Says Now He'll Try Research". Bloomberg.
  19. ↑ Bruce Grantier (January 3, 2014). "Book Review: The Art of Value Investing", CFA Institute.
  20. ↑ "Poor Charlie's Almanack: The Essential Wit and Wisdom of Charles T. Munger". www.stripe.press. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  21. ↑ James K. Glassman (July 12, 2003). "World of Investing: Don't neglect high-tech stock", The New York Times.
  22. ↑ "Whitney Tilson", Seeking Alpha.
  23. 1 2 Alexandra Stevenson (June 22, 2015). "The Loneliness of the Short-Seller", The New York Times.
  24. ↑ Abrams, Rachel (March 4, 2015). "Lumber Liquidators Plunges After TV Report of Tainted Flooring". The New York Times.
  25. ↑ CBS (December 14, 2008). The Mortgage Meltdown . Retrieved January 4, 2025– via YouTube.
  26. ↑ Rachel Abrams and Aaron M. Kessler (March 4, 2015). "Lumber Liquidators Plunges After TV Report of Tainted Flooring", The New York Times.
  27. ↑ Rachel Abrams (November. 9, 2015). "Laminate Maker Ark Is Accused of Selling Tainted Flooring", The New York Times.
  28. ↑ Farmer, Brit (March 2, 2015). "Lumber Liquidators to pay $33 million criminal penalty". Forbes .
  29. 1 2 3 4 Hartocollis, Anemona; Saul, Stephanie; Fandos, Nicholas; Blinder, Alan (November 11, 2023). "Harvard, Columbia and Penn Pledge to Fight Antisemitism on Campus". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  30. 1 2 3 "Free Genarlow Wilson: the $1 Million Man Speaks to ABC", ABC News, June 26, 2007.
  31. 1 2 "News from the Fistula Foundation, Winter 2009" (PDF).
  32. ↑ Peg Tyre (June 27, 2017). "Can a Tech Start-Up Successfully Educate Children in the Developing World?", The New York Times.
  33. ↑ Sam Dillon (November 14, 2008). "Feelings running high on fate of U.S. schools", The New York Times.
  34. ↑ Cohen, Rachel (November 30, 2018). "Pro-Charter School Democrats, Embattled in the Trump Era, Score a Win With Hakeem Jeffries".
  35. 1 2 3 4 Jennifer Medina (October 15, 2007). "Making Cash a Prize for High Scores on Advanced Placement Tests", The New York Times.
  36. ↑ Elissa Gootman (August 19, 2008). "Mixed Results on Paying City Students to Pass Tests", The New York Times.
  37. ↑ "Open Secrets".
  38. ↑ "Donor Lookup; Whitney Tilson", Open Secrets.
  39. 1 2 3 Sorkin, Andrew Ross (December 13, 2016). "Elizabeth Warren Condemns the Wrong Man". The New York Times. ISSN   0362-4331 . Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  40. 1 2 Nicholas Kristof (June 26, 2019). "Why I Was Wrong About Elizabeth Warren", The New York Times.
  41. ↑ Theodore Scheifer (August 6, 2024). "Walz, a middling fund-raiser, energizes Democratic donors", The New York Times.
  42. ↑ Richard Luscombe (July 1, 2024). "Anxious donors plot next moves after Biden debate calamity," The Guardian.
  43. ↑ Noam Scheiber (March 6, 2016). "New York Legislators Plan to Introduce Measure on Carried Interest Tax", The New York Times.
  44. ↑ Brad Jenkins (May 4, 2012). "The Buffett/Reagan Rule: Patriotic Millionaires for Fiscal Strength," Obama White House.
  45. 1 2 3 "Georgia Man Fights Conviction as Molester", The New York Times , December 19, 2006 Archived February 3, 2023, at the Wayback Machine
  46. ↑ Joyner, Tammy (October 26, 2007). "Genarlow Wilson rejoices over his release". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Archived from the original on October 28, 2007. Retrieved October 26, 2007.
  47. ↑ Why is Genarlow Wilson in Prison? Archived June 15, 2007, at the Wayback Machine , Chandra R. Thomas, Atlanta Magazine
  48. ↑ Outrageous Injustice , Thompson, Wright, ESPN website, January 24, 2007
  49. ↑ Brenda Goodman (June 26, 2007). "Georgia: Supporters Offer Bond for Prisoner", The New York Times.
  50. ↑ Supreme Court of Georgia, Humphrey v. Wilson (S07A1481) and Wilson v. The State (S07A1606), 282 Ga. 520 (October 26, 2007)
  51. 1 2 Nicholas Kristof (September 24, 2011). "Helping Somali Famine Victims", The New York Times.
  52. ↑ "Donald Trump Likely To Win South Carolina", CNN, February 24, 2024.
  53. ↑ Svea Herbst-Bayliss and Lananh Nguyen (September 20, 2023). "Finance titans meet with Ukraine's Zelenskiy in New York -sources", Yahoo.
  54. ↑ "Whitney". The Gracia Group. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
  55. ↑ Nahmias, Laura (November 16, 2024). "Ex-Hedge Fund Manager Whitney Tilson Will Run for NYC Mayor".
  56. ↑ Coltin, Jeff (November 27, 2024). "A Dem donor tries running for mayor".
  57. ↑ Tilson, Whitney (November 8, 2023). "My Adventure at the 2023 World's Toughest Mudder" (PDF).
  58. ↑ "Whitney Tilson Climbs the Northern Cascades in Support of KIPP NYC!". KIPP NYC. Retrieved January 4, 2025.
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