Billionaire donates big five-figure sum to hero who disarmed Bondi Beach alleged gunman
Investment banker Bill Ackman has made an eye-watering donation to Ahmed al Ahmed after the brave father of two heroically tackled one of the alleged shooters in the Bondi Beach terror attack
One of the world’s richest men has backed up his promise to reward the hero who disarmed one of the Bondi Beach shooting suspects. Bill Ackman, a billionaire investment banker, had vowed to reward the heroic bystander named as 43-year-old Ahmed al Ahmed.
Mr Ackman now appears to have made good on that promise. A GoFundMe page set up to support Mr al Ahmed showed a donation $99,999 from a William Ackmann, just hours after the horrific attack in a Sydney suburb.
Footage showed Mr al Ahmed, wearing a white shirt, crouching behind a car in a carpark metres away from one of the alleged shooters. During a pause between shots, he runs through the parked cars and grabs the gunman in a headlock from behind.
After a violent struggle lasting about five seconds, Mr al Ahmed is able to wrestle the shotgun from the alleged , who falls backwards. Ahmed then points the weapon at the alleged shooter as the man retreats towards a bridge, repeatedly looking over his shoulder.
New footage shows Mr al Ahmed later sitting on the ground while bystanders attend to what appears to be a leg injury. In the clip, posted to Instagram by @crazynewsinsydney, the caption states that the “man was injured but his courage gave others time to escape”.
Mr al Ahmed, a Sydney local and father of two, owns a fruit shop in Sutherland. According to his cousin, he was shot twice during the extraordinary intervention. Speaking to 7News, his cousin Mustafa said Mr al Ahmed was being treated in hospital.
“He’s in hospital and we don’t know exactly what’ going on inside,” Mustafa said. “We do hope he will be fine. He’s a hero 100 per cent.” Ahmed was due to undergo surgery on the night of the incident. He reportedly has no experience with firearms and was simply walking past when he decided to intervene.
Following Ahmed’s heroic intervention, hedge fund manager Mr Ackman had taken to social media vowing to reward Mr al Ahmed, reports the Mirror. The Jewish investment banker, worth more than $9.5billion, said: “Can someone please set up a verified so we can reward him and his family.”
A GoFundMe page set up by CarHubAustralia had raised more than $326,000 within hours of Sunday’s Bondi Beach attack – helped enormously by Mr Ackmann’s donation.
The page read: “After witnessing the extraordinary actions of the hero who helped disarm one of the attackers during the Bondi tragedy, an act that prevented the loss of countless more lives, we felt compelled to act.
“In a moment of chaos and danger, he stepped forward without hesitation. His actions were selfless, instinctive, and undeniably heroic, taken without regard for his own safety. Early reports indicate he was shot twice in the process while protecting others.
“This GoFundMe has been created to show our gratitude and support for someone who demonstrated incredible courage when it mattered most.
“To kick things off and lead by example, we are making an initial donation of $50,000 to honour this absolute hero and help support him through recovery, and the lasting impact of this traumatic event.
“No one expects to be a hero, but when the moment came, he was. Any contribution, big or small, is a powerful way to say thank you.”
Mr Ackman, the founder and CEO of Pershing Square Capital Management, posted a link to the GoFundMe page on X (Twitter), saying: “This is the verified link for the Bondi hero. I am told by @gofundme that the funds will only be released directly to the hero.”
In reply, one user posted: “I want everyone in the world with a little bit of money to donate to this man’s family and himself. This hero should never have to work another day in his entire life!!”
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