Carl Icahn
Carl Icahn
Carl Celian Icahnis an American business magnate, investor, activist shareholder, and philanthropist. He is the founder and majority shareholder of Icahn Enterprises, a diversified conglomerate holding company based in New York City. He is also Chairman of Federal-Mogul, an American developer, manufacturer and supplier of powertrain components and vehicle safety products...
NationalityAmerican
ProfessionEntrepreneur
Date of Birth16 February 1936
CityQueens, NY
CountryUnited States of America
A lot of people died fighting tyranny. The least I can do is vote against it.
I have to look out for the shareholder’s interests, and I’m the largest shareholder.
The CEO is, by far, the most important decision for a company... The company is going to rise and fall with the CEO.
We have bloated bureaucracies in Corporate America. The root of the problem is the absence of real corporate democracy.
Now the guy that got to the top, the CEO, would obviously be stupid to have a number two guy who was a lot smarter than he is. So by definition, since he's a survivor and he got to the top and he isn't that brilliant, his number two guy is going to always be a little worse than he is. So, as time goes on, it's anti-Darwinism, the survival of the un- fittest.
And I'm convinced, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that you can work with the unions because the unions want to survive. If they are confronted simply with the question: "Do you want this company to survive or do you want it to be broken up?" they will listen. It's their livelihood.
I can tell you how bad our boards are... I don't have to watch Saturday Night Live anymore; I just go to the board meetings.
My wife watches me like a hawk.
We want these assets to be productive. We buy them. We own them. To say we care only about the short term is wrong. What I care about is seeing these assets in the best hands
CEOs are paid for doing a terrible job. If the system wasn't so messed up, guys like me wouldn't make this kind of money.
Reuters was completely accurate that I am concerned about the level of the market. But I also made it clear on the conference call (and I believe as Reuters reported it), that it is almost impossible to predict what a market will do in the short term. There are too many variables.
Everything I have is for sale, except for my kids and possibly my wife.
You learn in this business.. If you want a friend, get a dog.
I like winning. There's also a certain joy in it. I feel fulfilled by it.