www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-03-19/world-s-richest-spending-1-billion-on-bargains-of-a-lifetime

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Some of the world’s wealthiest people spent more than $1 billion combined to boost their stakes in companies as markets around the world tumbled.

Activist investor Carl Icahn increased his holdings in Hertz Global Holdings Inc. and Newell Brands Inc., according to regulatory filings. Warren Buffett’s holding company added shares of Delta Air Lines Inc., while the heirs of the Tetra Laval fortune plowed $317 million into International Flavors & Fragrances Inc. stock.

Equity indexes across the globe have plummeted in recent weeks, largely over uncertainty about the long-term impact of the coronavirus outbreak. Some airlines and retail mall operators have lost more than half their value.

But corporate executives, board members and large shareholders have been buying stock in their companies at the largest rate relative to sales since 2011. Some, like Bill Ackman, are optimistic that equities will rebound quickly as long as measures to halt the spread of the virus are strengthened and ultimately prove successful.

“These are bargains of a lifetime if we manage this crisis correctly,” Ackman, founder of Pershing Square Capital Management, tweeted Wednesday, conditioning that on a temporary shutdown and closing of U.S. borders.