Ackman Scolded Over DEI Views at Closed-Door Milken Session (1)

While money managers were inking deals, talking about AI and hanging on Elon Musk’s every word at this week’s premier business conference in Beverly Hills, a passionate debate over diversity was taking place behind closed doors.

In a small side room, roughly 40 people, including some of Wall Street’s most senior executives of color, crowded around a rectangular array of tables for an invitation-only panel and confronted hedge fund manager Bill Ackman for his attacks on diversity, equity and inclusion, or DEI, initiatives, according to five attendees.

For about an hour, Ackman was criticized for his public denunciation of ...