Ackman and [David P. Berkowitz], to their credit, see this possibility as well. They note that Harvard Business School students are nothing if not mercenary and are routinely seduced by the best-paying business du jour. They also say that whenever Harvard graduates have piled into the "hot" field, that business has often come a-cropper.

"One day I approached David with a copy of Seth Klarman's investing book `Margin of Safety,' which I found fascinating," Ackman said. "This book was the catalyst."

The document detailed what Ackman and Berkowitz expected to be paid for their services as the partnership's general partners. They were to get a management fee equal to 1 percent of the money in the partnership and one-fifth of all the profits minus the management fee.