Key facts
- Bill Ackman is donating $400 million to establish the Ackman Oxman Institute.
- The institute will focus on brain research, recovery, and longevity.
- The donation was inspired by his daughter Lucy's brain hemorrhage.
- Oura is investigating if its ring can detect brain hemorrhages.
Billionaire investor Bill Ackman is donating $400 million to establish the Ackman Oxman Institute, a nonprofit organization dedicated to brain research, recovery, and longevity. The significant contribution was prompted by his daughter Lucy's severe brain hemorrhage in February, which led to her being hospitalized for six months.
Ackman shared that data from his daughter's Oura Ring indicated her hemorrhage occurred many hours before she was found unconscious and underwent surgery. He expressed a wish for the Oura Ring to have alerted him to the medical event. In response, Oura CEO Tom Hale stated the company is investigating the possibility of developing a feature to detect such critical medical events.
The Ackman Oxman Institute will be housed in a 400,000-square-foot building in Manhattan. Ackman noted that his daughter, despite significant recovery challenges including vision loss, has regained cognition and is making progress in walking and speaking, highlighting the brain's capacity for recovery.