Peter Ackerman
Peter Ackerman (November 6, 1946 – April 26, 2022) was an American businessman, the founder and former chairman of Americans Elect, and the founding chair of the International Center on Nonviolent Conflict.[1] Ackerman was the managing director of Rockport Capital, Inc and served as a member of IREX's Global Advisory Council.[2]
For the American playwright and screenwriter, see Peter Ackerman (playwright).
Peter Ackerman
November 6, 1946
April 26, 2022 (aged 75)
Investor
1973-2022
Rockport Capital
Early life[edit]
Peter Ackerman was born in New York City, New York. He received his undergraduate degree in political science from Colgate University.[3] After graduating from Colgate, he attended the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy at Tufts University where he earned a Ph.D. in 1976 in International Relations.[3] While at Tufts, he studied under Gene Sharp and Robert Pfaltzgraff.[4] Ackerman's thesis, Strategic Aspects of Nonviolent Resistance Movements, examined the nonviolent strategy and tactics used by people who are living under oppression and have no viable military option to free themselves.[5]
Business career[edit]
In 1973, Ackerman joined the investment bank Drexel Burnham Lambert.[5] From 1978 to 1990, Ackerman was Director of International Capital Markets Drexel until the company filed for bankruptcy.[14] While at Drexel, Ackerman made more than $300 million working alongside 'Junk Bond King' Michael Milken, raising billions of dollars for junk-bond-fueled takeovers.[15] In 1988 he received the second-highest take-home salary in Wall Street history, receiving $165 million.[5] Criminal charges were never brought against Ackerman in Drexel's insider trading scandal. He publicly denounced the treatment of Milken and other leaders at Drexel by the firm once the government began to investigate them.[16] Ackerman subsequently paid a $73 million settlement in a civil case brought against him by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Resolution Trust Corporation.[17][18]
After leaving Drexel, Ackerman founded several other companies, including Safari Acquisition. One of Safari's attempted acquisitions was its 1996 bid for control of Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.[3][19] His main investment firms include Rockport Capital Inc. and Crown Capital.[5][20] In 2002 Ackerman co-founded the online grocery service FreshDirect.[21]
Ackerman was a member of the board of the Atlantic Council,[22] and the Council on Foreign Relations. He was the chair emeritus of the board of advisors of The Fletcher School at Tufts University, his alma mater, and was the former chair of the board of trustees of Freedom House, serving there from September 2005 until January 2009.[1][23][24]
Courtroom issues[edit]
In 2003 Ackerman sued the California Franchise Tax Board to recover $5 million in taxes previously paid. He lost the case on appeal. In 2005 a bill was introduced in the California legislature, which was noted by a Senate Revenue and Taxation Committee analysis to appear to solely benefit Ackerman at a potential cost of $5 million to the state. That year the United States Tax Court ruled that Ackerman was involved in an illegal $1.7 billion tax shelter; the IRS determined that Ackerman owed $150 million in taxes. This case was resolved in June 2011 in an undisclosed settlement. Another tax court ruling in 2009 found that he owed an additional $2.6 million.[17]