Dan Loeb
Born 1961 · Age 64
American investor, activist hedge-fund manager and philanthropist; founder & CEO of Third Point LLC (founded 1995).
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Life & Career Timeline
Birth of Daniel Seth Loeb
Born in Santa Monica, California to Ronald and Clare (née Spark) Loeb.
Raised in Santa Monica - childhood context
Grew up in Santa Monica; family links include father Ronald Loeb (attorney, Williams-Sonoma) and great-aunt Ruth Handler (co-founder of Mattel).
Attended Palisades Charter High School
Attended high school in Los Angeles, took AP classes and started a skateboard company; nicknamed 'Milo Minderbinder' by a teacher.
Enrolled at University of California, Berkeley
Attended UC Berkeley for two years before transferring.
Transferred to Columbia University
Transferred from UC Berkeley to Columbia University to complete undergraduate studies.
Graduated Columbia University (A.B., Economics)
Received a bachelor's degree in economics from Columbia University; classmate of Barack Obama.
Investment setback as a student
By senior year had made $120,000 investing but lost it on an investment in Puritan-Bennett Inc.; cited as lesson on overconcentration.
Joined Warburg Pincus
Started work at private equity firm Warburg Pincus (employed 1984–1987).
Left Warburg Pincus for Island Records
Joined Island Records as Director of Corporate Development, focusing on securing debt financing for the label.
Risk-arbitrage analyst at Lafer Equity Investors
Worked as a risk arbitrage analyst (exact dates unspecified, placed after Island Records).
Senior VP, Distressed Debt at Jefferies LLC
Served as senior vice-president in Jefferies' distressed debt department (1991–1994), focusing on bankruptcy analysis and trading bank loans.
Vice President, Citigroup (high-yield bond sales)
Served as a vice president at Citigroup in charge of high-yield bond sales (1994–1995).
Founded Third Point Management (Third Point LLC)
Launched Third Point in 1995 with $3.3 million raised from family and friends to run event-driven, value-oriented strategies.
Third Point performance track record begins
Third Point's long-term reported performance timeframe begins (Dec 1996) used to compute multi-year returns later reported.
Art purchase: Jeff Koons piece (approx.)
Reported purchase (from Gagosian Gallery) of Jeff Koons' 'Baroque Egg With Bow' for about $3 million (later sold in 2009).
Marriage to Margaret Davidson Munzer
Married Margaret Munzer at his East Hampton beach house; the couple later had three children.
Notable public letters to company executives
Published aggressive activist letters (examples: letters to Ligand CEO David Robinson, InterCept's John Collins; to Irik Sevin of Star Gas Partners) that pushed management changes.
NYT real estate mention
Referenced in NYT piece about a significant Manhattan townhouse/penthouse transaction (public reporting indicates major NYC property purchase around this period).
Investment in Ligand Pharmaceuticals
After John Higgins became CEO, Loeb invested in Ligand: reported $50 million invested; helped grow revenue/profits, returned value including $68M of stock buybacks and profit improvement figures reported.
Art sale at Sotheby's
Sold Jeff Koons 'Baroque Egg With Bow (Turquoise/Magenta)' at Sotheby's for $5.4 million; originally purchased ~2004 for about $3M.
Third Point Foundation profit reported
Loeb Family - Third Point Foundation reported $6.39 million in profits for 2011 (charitable foundation activity).
Triathlon fundraiser challenge
Challenged three former Navy SEALs to run the 'MightyMan' Half Iron Triathlon to raise funds for the Navy SEAL Foundation; made substantial contributions tied to completion.
Third Point returns: +21.2% in 2012
Third Point returned +21.2% in 2012, outperforming the S&P 500 and marking one of the firm's best years.
Yahoo: exposed CEO Scott Thompson resume issue
As a 5.8% Yahoo shareholder, Loeb revealed that CEO Scott Thompson's computer science degree was misrepresented—triggering major corporate fallout.
Yahoo CEO Scott Thompson steps down; board nominations
Following Loeb's campaign, Yahoo announced Thompson would step down; Loeb nominated himself and three allies for board seats.
Third Point: year return +25.2%
Third Point reported +25.2% returns in 2013 (S&P returned +32.4%).
Filed activism letter to Sony proposing breakup
Proposed splitting Sony's entertainment and electronics businesses to unlock shareholder value (public campaign in May 2013).
Increased Sony stake to ~70M shares (~7%)
Third Point announced it had increased its stake in Sony to ~70 million shares (~7%), valued around $1.4 billion at that time.
Resigned from Yahoo! board
In July 2013, Loeb and two allies resigned from Yahoo's board after earlier appointments; Yahoo agreed to buy back 40M shares from Third Point for $1.6B.
Sotheby's stake & governance campaign (9.3%)
In October 2013 Third Point disclosed acquiring 9.3% of Sotheby's shares and publicly challenged the auction house's governance and strategy.
Joined Sotheby's Board of Directors
Became a director at Sotheby's as a result of the May 2014 agreement (later William Ruprecht retired after long tenure).
Third Point returns +5.7% in 2014
Annual return for Third Point in 2014 reported at +5.7% while S&P returned +13.7%.
Third Point took a stake in Fanuc (late 2014)
Third Point took a stake in Japanese robotics firm Fanuc and engaged with management; part of broader activist outreach in Japan.
Delaware Court rules Sotheby's poison-pill justified
Vice Chancellor Donald Parsons ruled Sotheby's use of a poison pill against Third Point was justified; ensuing negotiation led to board seats.
Deal with Sotheby's: Loeb joins board; ownership cap set
Agreement that Loeb, Olivier Reza and Harry J. Wilson join Sotheby's board; Third Point's ownership capped at 15% and proxy contest ceased.
Sold Sony stake
Loeb sold his shares in Sony in October 2014, exiting his high-profile activism campaign.
Third Point returns -1.4% in 2015
Fund reported a negative return in 2015 (-1.4%) while S&P returned +1.4%.
Named among 'one of the most successful activists'
Public recognition (media) describing Loeb as one of the most successful activist investors (circa 2014–2015 coverage).
Letter to Seven & I directors recommending Isaka
Wrote to Seven & I directors advocating Ryuichi Isaka be rewarded (not demoted), influencing leadership decisions at the Japanese retail conglomerate.
Seven & I leadership change; Suzuki resigns
Following the boardroom dispute in which Loeb was involved, Toshifumi Suzuki resigned as chairman and CEO of Seven & I Holdings Co.
Third Point reported strong 2017 performance (partial year)
Reported return of ~18.1% net of fees in the first 11 months of 2017.
Third Point disclosed Nestlé stake (approx. 40M shares)
In June 2017, Third Point disclosed ownership of ~40 million shares of Nestlé, making it one of the company's largest shareholders.
Advocated for release of Bernard Noble
Successfully pushed for release of Bernard Noble, who had served 7+ years in prison for minor marijuana possession; part of criminal justice reform efforts.
Chairman of Success Academy board (tenure)
Served as board chairman of Success Academy Charter Schools from 2014 through 2019 (salt.org notes 2014–2019 chairmanship).
Purchased shares in Snowflake (became shareholder)
It was publicly reported in October that Loeb/Third Point had become a shareholder in Snowflake (cloud data platform).
Award: Alexander Hamilton Award (Manhattan Institute)
Received the Alexander Hamilton Award for philanthropic service from the Manhattan Institute (October 2020).
Forbes net worth estimate: $3.5 billion
Forbes reported Loeb's net worth at approximately $3.5 billion (April 2021).
UJA Federation Gustave L. Levy award
Honored by UJA Federation of New York with its Gustave L. Levy award in recognition of philanthropic work (2022, per salt.org bio).
Chairmanship end: Success Academy (2019 was end year)
Served on and chaired Success Academy's board through 2019; noted in bios as ongoing supporter and earlier chair (context reaffirmed through 2023 bios).
Trustee & philanthropic roles (ongoing)
Listed as trustee of Mount Sinai Health System (established Ronald M. Loeb Center for Alzheimer's), trustee of Manhattan Institute, U.S. Olympic Committee, LACMA; member of Council on Foreign Relations and AEI National Council.
Public profile: activist investing reputation reaffirmed
Media continued to describe Loeb as a leading activist investor; New York magazine's summaries and later retrospective coverage highlighted his buy-into-troubled-companies strategy.
Third Point assets under management reported at $4 billion
Wikipedia (as of Dec 2023) notes Third Point had $4 billion in assets under management.
Participation in private business leaders' WhatsApp group (Israel-related advocacy)
Reported involvement (Oct 2023–May 2024) in a private WhatsApp group with business leaders discussing efforts to influence U.S. public opinion and actions relating to Israel and campus protests; group held video calls including with NYC Mayor Eric Adams (late April 2024).
Public reporting on group communications (Washington Post May 2024)
Washington Post reported on the private group and its attempts to 'change the narrative' in favor of Israel after Oct 7, 2023 attacks; Loeb declined to comment on donations to Mayor Adams for that purpose.
Biographical summaries & net worth mentions (ongoing)
Multiple sources (mabumbe, TrendSpider, Business Insider) provide updated biographies and net worth estimates (varying figures; some cite Third Point AUMs in the billions and net worth estimates around $3.3–3.5B).
Key Achievement Ages
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