Sir Chris Hohn

Founder and portfolio manager of The Children's Investment Fund (TCI), an activist hedge fund, and a large-scale philanthropist.

Claims

As speaker

Mentioned in

Key positions and views

Invests exclusively in a small, pre-screened universe of approximately 200 global companies deemed to be of high quality.

Prioritizes companies with high and sustainable barriers to entry, such as those benefiting from natural monopolies, duopolies, or strong network effects.

Employs a long-term, concentrated investment strategy, typically holding only 10-15 stocks with an average holding period of eight years.

Maintains a strict policy of avoiding entire industries considered 'bad,' including banks, autos, retail, insurance, commodity manufacturing, and airlines.

Views short selling as prohibitively difficult due to the challenges of investor psychology and its asymmetric risk-reward profile.

Podcast consensus on Hohn

Points of consensus

▶Sir Chris Hohn consistently advocates for investing in companies with strong, sustainable competitive moats, frequently citing network effects and natural monopolies as key sources of these advantages.Apr 2026

▶He employs a highly concentrated, long-term investment strategy, typically holding only 10-15 stocks with an average holding period of eight years.Apr 2026

▶Hohn is known for engaging in aggressive shareholder activism to influence corporate strategy, as demonstrated by his campaigns involving Safran, ABN AMRO, and Wirecard.

▶He is a major philanthropist, directing over $500 million annually through the TCI Foundation and personal giving, with a significant focus on climate change in Asia.Apr 2026

Points of debate

▶Hohn expresses admiration for Warren Buffett's principles, yet took the opposite side of a trade during the financial crisis by buying Moody's shares that Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway was selling.Apr 2026

▶His investment philosophy explicitly excludes 'bad' industries like banks, yet one of TCI's most profitable activist campaigns involved forcing the sale of ABN AMRO, a major bank.Apr 2026

▶There is a tension between his stated preference for long-term holding periods (8 years on average) and his use of catalyst-driven activism that can result in the relatively quick sale or breakup of a target company.Apr 2026

▶He describes TCI's investment in Alphabet as its 'most risky' and a smaller position, which contrasts with his justification that half its market cap is protected by the value of its component businesses like YouTube and Google Cloud.Apr 2026

Key themes

▶High-Conviction, Concentrated InvestingApr 2026

Hohn's strategy is defined by extreme focus, running a portfolio of just 10-15 stocks selected from a global universe of only 200 investable companies. This is coupled with a long-term perspective, with an average holding period of eight years for current investments.

This 'all eggs in a few baskets' approach means that deep, proprietary research is paramount, as the performance of each individual company has an outsized impact on the fund's overall returns, magnifying both risk and potential reward.

▶Aggressive Shareholder Activism as a ToolApr 2026

TCI does not passively hold its investments. Hohn has repeatedly demonstrated a willingness to launch aggressive public campaigns to force management action, such as compelling Safran to halve a purchase price, forcing the sale of ABN AMRO, and even filing a criminal complaint against Wirecard to catalyze an investigation.

For Hohn, activism is not just a strategy to unlock value but also a mechanism for enforcing corporate governance and exposing fraud, positioning TCI as a market catalyst rather than just a participant.

▶The Pursuit of Monopolies and DuopoliesApr 2026

A core tenet of Hohn's philosophy is investing in businesses with formidable barriers to entry, ideally natural monopolies or duopolies. He cites Spanish airports, derivatives exchanges like Eurex, and the aircraft engine market as prime examples of industries where competition is structurally limited.

This focus on market structure reveals a preference for businesses with predictable pricing power and sustainable high returns on capital, and a deep aversion to industries characterized by intense competition and low margins.

▶Exclusionary Philosophy and Industry AversionApr 2026

Hohn maintains a strict list of 'bad' industries that TCI will not invest in, regardless of valuation. This includes banks, airlines, auto manufacturers, retail, insurance, and fossil fuel utilities, among others, which he believes have inherently flawed business models or poor economics.

This exclusionary approach simplifies the investment process by dramatically shrinking the potential universe, allowing the small TCI team to focus its analytical resources on a pre-qualified list of what it considers high-quality businesses.

Source episodes

Sentiment over time

Not enough data for timeline

Changes over time

Pre-2008 Financial Crisis

TCI successfully forced the sale of Dutch bank ABN AMRO to a consortium of banks for €100 billion, netting TCI a billion-dollar profit before the acquirers subsequently faced severe financial distress.

During the Financial Crisis (c. 2008-2009)

Hohn's TCI purchased shares in Moody's at a valuation of 10 times earnings, opportunistically buying while Berkshire Hathaway was reducing its own stake in the company.

c. 2017

TCI launched a successful activist campaign against French aerospace company Safran, forcing it to cut the purchase price for its acquisition of Zodiac in half and pay in cash.

c. 2019-2020

To act as a catalyst and force an official inquiry, Hohn filed a formal criminal complaint for fraud against Wirecard with the Munich prosecutor's office.

Present

Hohn reports that the average holding period for a company in TCI's current portfolio is eight years, reflecting a long-term investment horizon.

Present

The TCI Foundation, with $6.5 billion in assets, combined with Hohn's personal giving, distributes over $500 million per year, focusing on climate change initiatives in Asia.

Suggested prompts

How does Sir Chris Hohn reconcile his admiration for Warren Buffett's philosophy with his willingness to engage in aggressive, disruptive activist campaigns that Buffett typically avoids? &nearr;What are the potential contradictions in TCI's strategy of avoiding 'bad' industries like banks while having profited immensely from forcing the sale of ABN AMRO? &nearr;Given TCI's small team of 7-8 people and concentrated portfolio of 10-15 stocks, what are the key operational risks and advantages of this lean, high-conviction model? &nearr;How does Hohn's significant philanthropic focus on climate change influence or interact with TCI's investment decisions, particularly regarding industries on the periphery of the fossil fuel economy? &nearr;

Key concepts

Company Analysis 7 ep Competitive Moats 5 ep Investment Philosophy 4 ep Market History 4 ep Shareholder Activism 3 ep Portfolio Management 3 ep Risk Assessment 3 ep Philanthropy 2 ep Short Selling 2 ep

Notable quotes

“made a billion dollars forcing the sale of it but in truth the company was worthless but was bought for 100 billion from three companies who all went bankrupt royal bank of scotland fortis and on venator”

Sir Chris Hohn · Sir Chris Hohn | Podcast | In Good Company | Norges Bank Investment Management

“And I bought the stock during the financial crisis at 10 times earnings and even bought shares Warren Buffett was selling and reduced his stake from 25% to, I think he's got 15% in Berkshire.”

Sir Chris Hohn · Sir Chris Hohn | Podcast | In Good Company | Norges Bank Investment Management

“I filed a formal criminal complaint for fraud at the Munich prosecutor's office, because they said if I wasn't public about it, it would be viewed as market manipulation.”

Sir Chris Hohn · Sir Chris Hohn | Podcast | In Good Company | Norges Bank Investment Management

“we have about six and a half billion dollars and uh in the foundation and uh i also do philanthropy outside of that and so between us we're giving away over 500 million dollars a year”

Sir Chris Hohn · Sir Chris Hohn | Podcast | In Good Company | Norges Bank Investment Management

Report last updated: Apr 21, 2026

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