Bill Ackman’s $25M Gift to NYC Theater
by Staff Writer on January 30, 2012
By Ricardo Kaulessar
There’s Bill Ackman the activist investor and Bill Ackman the philanthropist.
The Pershing Square Foundation, the non-profit run by the hedge fund guru and his wife Karen, and the Signature Theatre in New York City both announced Thursday a $25 million gift from the foundation to the theater company.
The gift is being dedicated to Signature Center, the company’s new Frank Gehry-designed home located in the city’s Times Square area, and will help fund the Signature Ticket Initiative: A Generation of Access, a program that will guarantee affordable and accessible tickets to every Signature production for the next 20 years.
According to the announcement, the new $66 million center will be called “The Pershing Square Signature Center” as an acknowledgment of the gift. The center on West 42nd Street officially opens on Tuesday when the Off-Broadway theater company’s 21st season kicks off.
Signature’s Founding Artistic Director James Houghton said of the $25 million gift, “Their commitment to both the company and the Signature Ticket Initiative is inspiring and will provide unprecedented access to all of the exciting cultural activity that will take place at our new home.”
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