Bill Ackman: WWIII Has Likely Already Begun

Hedge fund manager Bill Ackman believes that World War III “likely started already,” after Russia invaded Ukraine in late February.

The billionaire posted a statement on his Twitter account related to his warning of war last Saturday, writing: “In January 2020, I had nightmares about the potential for a pandemic, but everyone seemed to think I was crazy. I am having similar nightmares now.”

In January 2020, I had nightmares about the potential for a pandemic, but everyone seemed to think I was crazy. I am having similar nightmares now.  WWIII has likely started already, but we have been slow to recognize it.  Putin has invaded Ukraine and it is not going well

— Bill Ackman (@BillAckman) March 6, 2022

The CEO of Pershing Square Capital is known for his timely predictions. In the first months of 2020, when much of the world outside of China was not particularly concerned about the coronavirus, Ackman publicly called for a national lockdown and stated that “hell is coming” during an interview with CNBC.

His company hedged its position by purchasing credit default swaps, making billions, while countless others faced an extremely difficult financial period during the pandemic.

Bill Ackman believes WWIII has started, we just haven’t realized it yet

“WWIII has likely started already, but we have been slow to recognize it,” he wrote on Twitter. While he asserted that a conflict with Russia may be in the cards, he conceded that there is “much more we can do before we enter a hot war with Russia.”

“The Ukrainians have put up a remarkable resistance. NATO refuses to enter the war, but NATO members and most of the rest of the world have launched an economic war, and are supplying Stingers, anti-tank weapons, other munitions, intelligence, and funding,” he wrote.

He then questioned NATO’s lack of participation in the conflict, despite the fact that Ukraine is not a member of NATO and therefore the organization is not obligated to assist the country within its borders.

“What then do we do when [Putin] wants more? The nuclear threat is no different when he takes his next country, whether it is part of NATO or not, and by then we are strategically worse off,” he wrote.

His fear that Putin could continue to invade and in an attempt to take control of other neighboring countries stem from the belief that Putin was emboldened when the world put up little resistance to Russia’s annexation of Crimea and parts of Georgia.

Putin is “testing us,” billionaire asserts

Ackman wrote of Putin that “we did nothing to stop him” when Russia took control of the Crimean peninsula.

Countries that are not members of NATO would be particularly vulnerable, Ackman argued. Stating that letting Putin off easy for the war in Ukraine would give him “Carte blanche to invade and subjugate” other nations.

“With each ‘victory,’ he is emboldened to take more. He is testing us, and we are failing the test each time,” Ackman wrote.

He suggested that the US and NATO provide Ukraine with top-level equipment, stating “The Ukrainians with the right weapons and resources have proven that they have what it takes to win the war, unless and until Putin goes nuclear.”

The US has allocated a large sum of money to go to supporting the Ukrainian military as part of the spending bill that has passed the House and is making its way to the Senate.

Ackman asserted that China could help in preventing WWIII, suggesting that the country could broker a peace deal between Russia and Ukraine in which Ukraine would promise not to join NATO and Russia would withdraw from the country and revers the impact of devastating economic sanctions.