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Special-purpose acquisition companies aka blank-check companies are having a moment on Wall Street. The investment vehicles raised more than $80 billion in 2020, more than five-times last year s total of $14 billion.
SPACs have recently attracted bold-faced names such as hedge-fund titan Bill Ackman, LinkedIn founder Reid Hoffman, Silicon Valley power player Dragoneer Investment Group, and Moneyball star Billy Beane.
But there s an ecosystem of advisors, salespeople, and lawyers pitching blank-check companies to investment platforms and wealthy people as viable financing options.
We spoke with more than a dozen industry insiders to come up with a list of the market s most influential players.